William Troost-Ekong has shed some light on Watford's targets for the season, saying their aim is to secure automatic promotion to the Premier League.
The Hornets are enjoying a run of impressive results, having now won their last four Championship games and have only lost one match in their last 10 league outings.
The performances have seen Watford climb to the third spot on the league table with 60 points from 32 games, behind Brentford and leaders Norwich City.
Troost-Ekong has played 21 league games for Xisco Munoz’s men since teaming up with the club from Udinese last summer.
The Nigeria international hopes the Hornets will secure the needed points during the regular season to secure promotion to the English top-flight without going through the playoffs.
“There is still a long way to go and we have to play Norwich and all the teams around us,” Troost-Ekong told the club website.
“I still think it's difficult to say how many points we will need for automatic promotion. In the past it's been between 75 and 90 points, so we want to reach that level before we start looking around at others.
“We've got a board up and just crossing off the wins we think we need. I know it's a cliche, but we are taking each game as it comes and the coach is hammering that into us. We aren't looking at any calculations.”
Watford will take on seventh-placed Bournemouth in Saturday’s Championship game and Troost-Ekong has urged his side not to underestimate the Cherries.
“It's a massive game. Everyone probably highlighted this game at the start of the season and it still feels the same,” he continued.
“Bournemouth are going through a rocky spell and they've had a change of manager, but we can't think like that as that's when banana skins come out.
“They are a quality team and every Championship game is hard. They have suffered some difficult moments, but they see this as a final as we do. If we win this game we can really get a gap between us. It's going to be a massive game.”
The Super Eagles vice-captain has described the atmosphere at Vicarage Road as ‘buzzing’ which is helping the players to mentally prepare for games.
“The boys are really enjoying themselves. When a team is mentally strong it is easy to get up for games and get to your best level if you are feeling good," he added.
“There is a buzz around the place and you can see it every day at the training ground. Every day is an exciting day and everybody is believing what we are doing.”
