Watford’s Tom Dele-Bashiru reveals what Slaven Bilic told him prior to Hull City start | OneFootball

Watford midfielder Tom Dele-Bashiru has revealed what Hornets head coach Slaven Bilic told him before his first league start of the season on Saturday.

The 23-year-old was named in the Watford starting XI for the first time this season for Sunday’s home Championship clash with Hull City, which would end in a 0-0 stalemate.

It was a big moment for Dele-Bashiru, though, and after the match, he revealed what the Watford head coach asked of him during the 90 minutes.

“He just asked me to play my game, enjoy it and try to get on the ball and make things happen.” Dele-Bashiru told Watford club media.

“In the first half, when I got on the ball I thought I was good, but I needed to be on the ball a bit more.

“Slaven Bilić is a great manager.

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“It has been a difficult start because I had my injury at the beginning of the season, but I’ve been working hard, training well and I’m grateful for the opportunity and I hope to keep my place in the team.

“It was disappointing not to get the three points today, but we know that we created plenty of chances in the second half and we should’ve won the game, so we will take that and the positives into the next game.”

After the draw versus Hull, Dele-Bashiru and his teammates sit 5th in the Championship standings.

A trip away to Huddersfield Town is up next for the Hornets in the division.

The Verdict

It was a rare positive on the day for Watford to see Tom Dele-Bashiru start and do well.

He will almost certainly keep his place moving forwards, too, with injuries to the likes of Hamza Choudhury and Edo Kayembe the latest to the midfield at Vicarage Road.

It is beyond a crisis in the centre of the park at the club at the moment, with Dan Gosling, Tom Cleverley and Imran Louza all sidelined, too.

It’s going to be very tough for the Hornets to win matches in the coming weeks, that’s for sure.