Too many cooks at Watford - Ince

Former Watford midfielder Tom Ince says he fears for the club in the Championship this season. The Hornets have lost their past four Championship matches to slip into the relegation zone but have backed head coach Alessio Dionisi before Saturday's game at home to Charlton Athletic (12:30 BST). Ince left Vicarage Road at the end of last season and is now with Tranmere Rovers in League Two but watched his former side suffer a 5-1 hammering at Cardiff on Tuesday night. "It's something I saw coming," Ince told the BBC's EFL podcast 72+. "When I first went there we had a lot of big experienced players who knew what it took to get results week in, week out but I looked at the squad at Cardiff and I hate to use the word, but it looks soulless. "The performance had no heart, and I sympathise and say there's not enough experience or leadership in that dressing room to give them that guidance to tell them what's acceptable and what isn't." Dionisi was appointed in June, becoming the club's 12th permanent boss since the end of the 2020-21 season but Ince - like many fans - believes the issues go deeper than the manager and the players. "It's a fantastic football club - the problem they've got, especially from my time there which was three years and felt a lot longer, is there are too many cooks in the kitchen," he added. "There are lots of different beliefs on how the club should move forward, what the team should look like and what players come in. "Regardless of what happens upstairs, which is obviously a big issue, this is the year I look at Watford and think they could be in trouble. "They've got to go in a different direction - I understand the model of bringing in young foreign players and trying to sell them on but in the Championship you need that core of experienced players who know what it takes to go Saturday/Tuesday and I looked at it [the performance on Tuesday] and it put a lot of fear into me." Listen to all episodes of 72+ on BBC Sounds. Latest Watford news, analysis and fan views