As the season progressed and their team failed to drag themselves clear of the relegation battle Watford were forced to draw up detailed contingency plans in case the worst was to happen, but until Sunday they continued to believe they would find a way out of danger. Those who had assembled the squad were convinced of the quality of its leading lights – players such as Ismaïla Sarr, Abdoulaye Doucouré, Gerard Deulofeu, Troy Deeney and Étienne Capoue – and whatever the mounting evidence presented by the league table they found it inconceivable they would fail.
On Monday they gathered at the training ground at London Colney, separated by a hedge from the Arsenal team whose victory over them, and the defeat to Aston Villa, during the fin…