When the deal finally went through and I was allowed to get back in the swing of things, I found myself back at the same club but with different players. A lot of the lads had moved on and been replaced by younger players coming through the ranks. So the club was still the same and being run the same way but the personnel was very different. Because of that it means that despite only being away for a year it still takes a bit of time to get used to it again.

I wasn't a shoe in for the team, either. Johnston and Reilly were scoring goals and whilst they were doing that Graham was never going to drop them, understandably. But that wasn't a problem to me because I knew my chance would come and that I would take it. I have always been used to competition as one position Graham always bought new players for was up front, so it was nothing I hadn't faced before.
 
What would you say is your best goal in a Watford shirt?
 
It has to be Old Trafford, 1978. The second goal which was the winner. We used to do a lot of work on patterns of play, and that was one of the occasions where what we had worked on was exactly what we done in a game. Down the flank where Ross would retrieve it, and lay it back to Dennis Booth. I knew exactly where Boothy was going to put it and when, which meant I could time my run to perfection. Boothy did what I knew he would and put it perfectly between the two centre backs and I managed to score from it.

Make no mistake though; as much as it was me that scored the goals that night, it was a phenomenal TEAM effort from back to front. We got battered towards the end but everyone dug deep, sucked it in and took anything they could throw at us. That was probably the best team performance I have played in.
 
 
What was your best individual performance in the yellow shirt?
 
There was a game when we played West Brom at home, I scored two that day but couldn't get the hat-trick. A fortnight after that I got the four against Sunderland, probably one of those two games would be my best.
 

You came back to the club in the 90's with Kenny Jackett on the coaching side of things, how was that?
 
Firstly, the club was a completely different place. Right from the board room down it was completely different. Before I came in as a coach I had already been working at the club from the previous Easter on the marketing side of things. It was a one day a week role that quickly became more, I was trying to get new companies on board for different sponsorship packages and what have you.

Because of that role I was watching a few of the games at the time, and you could see it wasn't ideal. A lot of players had ability but no confidence, where as some just were not good enough. When we came in it seemed to shake some of them up and we got a few results, but as we all know now it culminated in that game at home to Leicester on the last day of the season and we just didn't have enough to do it.

I remember we played Ipswich a few weeks before that game and we were winning but then the players legs went and it was all just too much for them. It was after that game that we really knew the game was up. One of the biggest problems was that the players were not fit enough. One thing you knew with a Graham Taylor side was that they would match anyone for fitness, so to find the players lacking like they were was a shock but there is little you can do about it at that time of the season.

The very top players can get away with less fitness sometimes because they make up for it with ability and are wiser as to how and when they spend their energy. At that time though we had average players and they simply were not fit enough. Some of them mentally were not tough enough either, so by the time their legs had gone their minds had as well and they were like zombies. If you believe that you have every chance of getting something out of the game up until the very last kick of the game then you are very hard to beat.

After we got relegated, we knew we had to prepare well for the next season. So we looked at the whole squad individually and the performances over the last 18 months or so, as well as their injury record and what type of injuries they were. We also needed to know how long they took to recover from games or injuries. After looking at that we decided there were a few players who were never going to be fit enough to play for Watford Football Club and to be the players we wanted them to be, so they went straight away.
 
 
Would you be prepared to name who they were?
 
No, that wouldn't be fair. Some of the players we wanted to get rid of were on longer contracts so we were stuck with them, and so we done our best to get them up to our required level of fitness. The club had no money as well so everything was done very carefully with who we had in the squad. The fitness thing was far and away the biggest problem though. The majority of injuries the players were getting were soft tissue injuries and strains which showed they weren't being prepared properly. If you prepare properly you can eliminate 90% or more of those types of injuries. So pre season preparation was about strength and avoiding the soft tissue injuries. Contact injuries still happened but they always will as that is part of the game.
 

Is there any one job on the backroom team you prefer to others? You have done different jobs at vastly different levels through the game, such as striking coach at Portsmouth to manager at Chesham.
 
One of my favourites was when Graham made me reserve team manager. I had been working with Tom Walley with the reserves for 18 months anyway so I knew them well, and then Graham put me in charge of them properly. I loved it. I love being in control of it and making the decisions, and being charged with trying to get the best out of them. We only just missed out on winning the league that year that I had them.

I remember clearly we lost at home to Ipswich in a game we never should have lost by giving away two stupid goals, and in the end we lost the league to derby by one point. I had an inkling at the time that that was going to be the game that cost us and it did. All I tried to do with the reserves was mirror what the first team did; for example if we had an away mid week game we would be in early afternoon to go through set pieces, have a proper pre match meal before jumping on the coach and going to the game. That was the routine for the first team, and I wanted my players to get in that same routine so if and when they did get called up, it was nothing too different from what they already knew.
 
During your time as reserve manager, were there any players that really stood out for you that you thought would go on to do well in the game?
 
You're testing my memory now fellas! Gifton started the season with us in the reserves, I remember we played Wimbledon first game and we beat them 4-1. Gifton led the line superbly, he was magnificent. That was the game when Robbie Earle injured his spleen as well I think. Micah played a couple of times on his way back from injury or suspension. Whenever we got a player like that though that you knew was likely to only be with you for one game, I just asked them to go and help the other players out and use some experience. The players knew I had to give an individual written performance for each player after every game for Graham so they were never likely to slack!
 

Has the first team managers’ job ever appealed to you?
 
Definitely, I would have loved to have done it. When Aidy got it, I had applied for it beforehand. There was a bit about in a paper afterwards which some people took as me having a go at Aidy. I wasn't - I was having a go at the club. Too many times you apply for jobs when the clubs have already got a replacement lined up.

They then go through the motions of asking for applicants and interviewing but the majority of the time a manager has already been hired. I knew the week before the position became vacant that Aidy had got the job. Before Lewington got sacked he was already in place. People in football talk, and you find these things out.
 
With all due respect, if you knew Aidy had got the job before Ray went, why did you apply for it knowing the job had been filled?
 
I was making a point, because it's wrong. They should be open and transparent about the job and that is something that football needs to sort out and quickly. If they filled it in house then fine, don't advertise it. But if they are not looking to recruit from in house and they advertise like they did then everyone should have a fair crack of getting it. It needs to be more transparent. What I think is that if they have 90 odd applicants then fine, keep that private. But when they whittle that down to a shortlist then that shortlist should be made available.
 
How do you get on with the club now?
 
Now, fantastic. I am always made to feel welcome now and the people there genuinely seem to be happy to see me. Before, it was more difficult. I always got the impression I wasn't particularly welcome, maybe that is because I am associated with the good old days from the past. I don't know. It is the history and the fans that define a club. If you turn your back on that then what have you got? 
 
 

What is your take on the situation with L***n T**n?
 
I think it’s very sad. The rivalry in football is great, but what is the point of having rivalry if you are poles apart and you’re never going to play each other for years and years? Off the pitch you want them to survive, but make no mistake when you are on the pitch you want to kick the crap out of them. You take no prisoners when playing them.

The supporters are on a different level to the players though, we actually got on quite well with a few of the L***n players, but when you are on the pitch with them and they are wearing that shirt then for 90 minutes your friendship is forgotten.
  
Does it feel as fierce on the pitch as it does from the stands?
 
Yes, definitely. I hated going there; it’s a horrible ground to play at. They have horrible, tiny little dressing rooms and when you are walking in or out their fans are right on top of you and they slaughter you. Always good to beat them lot though.
 
How did you find the 4-0 game when you were on the coaching staff?
 
I wasn't there! I was at Hayes or somewhere like that scouting someone. When I got the message we had embarrassed them like that I laughed and wondered how the L***n fans must have enjoyed it, and how good it must have been for our fans.
 
What is the day job now?
 
My two passions are football and motor racing. I couldn't and still can't see a football manager’s job on the horizon, so I decided to get involved with a motor racing project called Team 48. John Barnes and Les Ferdinand are involved as well as some motor racing people. We have got some kids involved in a project building a car from scratch that we will look to race for 24 hours at Le Mans. It is a way of trying to teach kids that they have to be involved and responsible with whatever they do in life.
 
Who is the better driver, you or Barnesy?!
 
I am, easily! That’s one thing I am better than him at!
 
QUICK FIRE ROUND