Troy Deeney targets Watford return as boss after five-hour Gareth Southgate chat

14 October 2023 , 19:30

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Troy Deeney is now player-coach at Watford (Image: FOREST GREEN ROVERS)

Troy Deeney has a dream. While there are many hoops to jump through - one day, he would love to return to Vicarage Road as Watford boss.

"If Watford phoned me today and went 'Troy, do you want to take over?' You cannot say no," declares the Hornets legend. Deeney is currently learning his managerial trade as player-coach with League Two outfit Forest Green Rovers but despite the mammoth task on his hands - home is where the heart is.

The straight-talking 35-year-old striker claims both he and those he left behind at Watford are making a conscious effort to build bridges after relations between the two parties became fractured following a series of recent podcast declarations.

“Things have been said, but, fundamentally, I love the place,” he admitted. “I’d like to think the owner Gino Pozzo and Scott Duxbury [the CEO] know what I’m truly about. I wish them nothing but the best and if that opportunity comes around, hopefully we’ll be grown up enough to have a conversation.”

Deeney has previously described his Watford exit as like “losing a family member” but he is adamant the home truths he has disclosed do not tarnish the way he feels about the club. Right now - he is battling to help Forest Green keep their head above water and that is an unprecedented challenge in itself as for the first time in his career, he openly concedes he is “getting old”.

Watford leading the way off the pitch on Green Football Weekend by adding bees

He said: “Mentally, I’m still 23. Even this morning I was hiding under the stairs pranking my missus. But the things I’ve been able to do for a long time are catching up on me. If I didn’t have confidence in myself, I’d have quit a couple of years ago. I’d be sitting on a beach and not in Gloucestershire. Football is on a different stratosphere here. It’s nothing like the Premier League or Championship. Every penny counts.”

Deeney is a compelling and fascinating speaker, a self-confessed student of the game and is determined to forge a successful coaching career.

Troy Deeney targets Watford return as boss after five-hour Gareth Southgate chat

Troy Deeney has opened the door to a sensational return to Watford - as manager (Julian Finney)

"The best advice I have received is: prepare to be sacked," he smirks. Post-discussion, the bullish centre-forward, who left Birmingham City last summer, has pencilled in a meeting with a top Premier League boss as he continues to carefully craft his managerial blueprint. In the next three to four months, he is also due to visit table-toppers Tottenham, Vincent Kompany at Burnley, his old boss Sean Dyche at Everton and Harry Kewell at Celtic.

Deeney added: “I might even go back to the Blues now Wayne Rooney is there. It's all about education for me. I always remember Manuel Almunia, when I scored that goal against Leicester. He said to me 'Have you got a diary?' I was 23 at the time, I thought diaries were for old people.

"But he said, 'You need to write stuff down'. From that Leicester moment, I have always written stuff down. Not weekly but there are things I can go back to. I've had so many experiences in my life - at Watford I had 17 managers in 12 years. I don't believe there is one way of playing football but now I'm trying to mould it all into one."

He has already banked time with England manager Gareth Southgate, whom he now holds in the highest regard. Deeney said: “I went to see Gareth and he gave me four to five hours. It was unbelievable, and I really can’t talk highly enough of him.”

He swiftly rebuffs any suggestion that Southgate felt obliged to help Deeney because he never handed him an England call-up.

“Not at all. The amount of insight he gave me, I was able to understand why he didn’t pick me,” Deeney added modestly. “I won’t speak on it because it’s his prerogative, but it’s absolutely fine. I started 12 steps below the Conference and played in an FA Cup Final. I’m more than satisfied with what I’ve achieved.”

NIVEA ambassador Troy Deeney is targeting a successful managerial career

Nivea Men’s ambassador Deeney is also embracing his partnership with the brand to battle any potential wrinkles born from managerial stress.

He said: “It’s easy to doubt your appearance in the modern world. Everything on Instagram is photoshopped – it’s fake. Confidence comes from within yourself. A 15-minute skincare routine is now part of my morning schedule. When I saw that 65 per cent of men under 35 are now doing more to slow down ageing, I thought I’d better take note!”