League tables do not lie and Watford have ultimately been proved to have been out of their league this season. As we look forward to visits to Barnsley, Scunthorpe and possibly Yeovil, we need to see which players will be with us.

Although Birmingham and Sunderland have managed to return to the Premiership at the first time of asking after relegation last season, their feat bucks the trend of teams that go down, most of which stay in the Championship for at least one season despite the advantage of millions in parachute payments.

Consequently, there will be players who are looking to spread their wings and leave the Hornets’ nest. Our player of the season, keeper Ben Foster, has been on loan rom Manchester United and will definitely return to Old Trafford in the summer. His saves at Reading on Saturday enabled us to ultimately take the three points but fans know for sure that the game against Newcastle will be his last for the Golden Boys.

In front of him, Danny Shittu, our Nigerian centre-back, has had some massive performances in the Premiership which have led to a recall to the national team. Whilst there will probably be some interest in his services from other teams, he signed for Watford last summer and his contract should be good for another season at a lower level.

Jay Demerit, the American who partners Shittu in the centre of defence, has also punched above his weight this season and will likewise be rewarded with an international call-up in the summer. Similarly, he could be the object of interest from the Premiership and Reading might well be his destination.

Midfielder Damien Francis, the Jamaican international bought for a million from Wigan last summer, is out for half a year after injuring cruciate knee ligaments in our match with Man City. He has not always played at the level we have seen glimpses of but it is the injury that ensures he will be at Watford next season.

Our outstanding player, since the sale of Ashley Young to Aston Villa in January, has been the French Algerian Hameur Bouazza, who has also been performing international duties for his country. As well as being our top-scorer in the Premiership, “Boozer’s” magnificent overhead kick against ManUtd in the FA Cup Semi-Final will have made a few managers sit up and take notice. But it is his running at defenders all season that has made him a favourite and the player likely to attract the highest bids.

Bad-boy Marlon King, arrested again in January while out injured, was sorely missed but has returned to the first team in the last couple of games. There have already been rumours of a summer transfer and with two Premiership goals in the few starts he managed at the beginning of the season, as well as one at Reading at the weekend, the Jamaican international is another player who has proved he can thrive at the highest level.

Manager Aidy Boothroyd has already been touted as a future England manager and there are enough large clubs around that are under-performing for the Watford faithful to be worried. Would “Betty” be tempted by the Leeds job? It was from their youth-team set-up that he came to Watford. Are Bolton, Man City or Newcastle ready to take this sort of gamble?

My hope is that “Betty” will lead the same Yellow Army straight back from whence we came but hope doesn’t hold much currency in modern football. Loyalty to a club is regularly bought but the idea of a challenge also motivates players and managers to move on (or to stay). Will taking the Hornets back up to the Premiership be enough motivation for the most talented at Vicarage Road?

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