No Watford sentiment for Wolves boss Kenny Jackett

The Watford-born Wolves head coach will always have a soft spot for the Hornets - but claims he was more of a general football fan than a supporter of his local team.

Jackett joined his hometown club as a 14-year-old and enjoyed a 25-year association with the Vicarage Road outfit as player, youth-team coach and first-team coach.

"I always look out for Watford's results because it's my hometown club - my mother still lives there," said the 53-year-old.

"But tomorrow we could be playing anyone because I want to win and do well for Wolves and myself, so I don't think there's any sentiment.

"We need a big push to stick with these top sides as long as we possibly can.

"Wanting to win, putting on good performances, making sure you've got that process right and you've done everything you can in that process to influence takes up all your thoughts, rather than the opposition being a club you were at.

"Also what the opposition are doing is a part of it, maybe tactically, their strengths, their weaknesses definitely."

Nevertheless Jackett hasn't forgotten his roots and remembers clearly where he watched his first football as a boy with his late father Frank.

"I went to Vicarage Road really early on as a schoolboy," he said.

"My dad used to take me to Watford and I used to watch the reserves before the first team.

"I went to Watford more than anyone else by a long way and even midweek games we'd go with some friends or whatever.

"It was an easy choice because we lived close and he'd take me to a lot of matches because he was a fan too.

"But I had an older brother who was playing in what would be the equivalent now of the Conference with an opportunity to break into the professional ranks, so I used to watch him as well.

"So my footballing experiences were of quite a range in standard.

"My dad might take me to Spurs to watch maybe Steve Perryman or a good player in my position to try to learn or just maybe a top-class game if he could.

"We'd watch different players and he'd say 'look, watch him what he does and try to learn from him'.

"They were my footballing experiences growing up rather than necessarily than watching one team."

Jackett eventually left Watford to forge his own managerial career in 2001, initially as assistant manager at QPR before taking charge of Swansea and MIllwall before arriving at Wolves and has no regrets about leaving his home town.

"I had a good time there, but I've been away from there for quite some time and for my own career and myself, it was right to move on," he said.

"I've developed and improved as I've gone on.

"You wouldn't want to stand still, you'd always want to try to improve and test yourself."