DANNY MURPHY: Hodgson's calming presence will be key to saving Watford

I am not surprised by Roy Hodgson's return at Watford. From their point of view, he's the best candidate to keep them in the Premier League. For him, it's an opportunity to show he's still got it at 74.

The last time I spoke to Roy he was full of energy and spark. I said when he left Crystal Palace he wasn't done with football and I've been proved right.

There are similarities with Watford's situation to my Fulham team in 2007-08. We were in the bottom three when he joined us in late December and devoid of confidence. 

Like Watford, we were conceding lots of goals but they've got more firepower than we had. Roy will still use the same methods, however. Structured training, simple messages, organised shape.

I remember a conversation after we'd worked on a drill getting two forwards and a wide player in scoring positions. I suggested I could get into the box from midfield instead of a wide player, as long as we communicated beforehand.

He looked at me with a wry smile and said very calmly, 'Let's walk before we can run'. In other words, a relegation fight is not the time or place to complicate a manager's instructions. Watford's players won't be asked to fulfil any complicated rotations.

The priority will be to improve when the team haven't got the ball because the forward players are always liable to score.

Roy will improve the mood. He and assistant Ray Lewington will be there for every training session including Sundays for those not involved the day before. He'll regularly check in on the treatment room to encourage the injured players. You would think they are basic duties for managers but they don't all do that.

Watford's players can also expect to spend plenty of time in the video room. Roy used video analysis