Watford midfielder Dan Gosling has admitted that he believes some of the attitude displayed by the club's players last season was a disgrace and played a role in the club's relegation from the Premier League.
The Hornets experienced a tumultuous 2021/22 campaign as they were unable to deliver the goods in the top-flight.
After opting to sack Xisco Munoz in October, Watford handed over the reins to Claudio Ranieri who failed to transform their fortunes during his brief stint at the club.
Ranieri was eventually replaced by Roy Hodgson in January.
Despite his wealth of managerial experience, Hodgson could not prevent Watford from finishing 19th in the league standings.
Having opted to hand over the reins to Rob Edwards earlier this year, the Hornets will be hoping to bring a feel-good factor back to Vicarage Road in the opening stages of the new term.
Gosling, who was limited to just four appearances in the Premier League last season, has revealed that it was the worst dressing room that he has ever been a part of in his professional career.
Speaking to the Watford Observer, Gosling said: "We had players walking into training saying they’d had enough now.
"The team was down and we had players that knew they’d be leaving.
"Players were saying 'well I’ve played 20 games, the team is down, I’m done here and someone else can have a go'.
"I thought that attitude was a disgrace.
"There were a lot of disgraceful attitudes here last season and that’s ultimately the reason we went down.
"It wasn’t a question of ability.
"Maybe some players didn’t always hit the levels they are capable of, but it was the attitude of individuals that did for us.
“It was a real disgrace, easily the worst dressing room I’ve ever been a part of.
"So now that we’re clearing the decks and trying to build something new is refreshing."
The Verdict
This is a damning admission by Gosling as he clearly believes that some of Watford's players essentially decided to give up when the club's fate in the Premier League was sealed.
Edwards will need to focus on altering the mentality at Vicarage Road as doing so may allow the Hornets to move on from what was a dreadful season.
As for Gosling, he will be hoping to force his way into Watford's starting eleven in the early stages of the new term after being forced to watch on from the sidelines for the majority of the previous term.
Given the 32-year-old has made 82 appearances in the Championship during his career, he will know exactly what it takes to compete at this level and thus could prove to be an asset for the Hornets as they aim to achieve a relative amount of success later this year.