'Potent' - Leeds United boss Jesse Marsch on his Watford plan and Roy Hodgson's 'assist'

Leeds and Watford are among the sides scrapping it out for Premier League survival but the second-bottom Hornets are eight points behind the fifth-bottom Whites, albeit with a game in hand.

Roy Hodgson's side have also lost their last eight home games but Marsch says there is more to the Vicarage Road outfit than meets the eye and has revealed his huge respect for opposing boss Hodgson.

Now 74, former England manager Hodgson took on his 23rd job in management when appointed Watford's new head coach back in January, replacing the axed Claudio Ranieri.

The Hornets have won two, drawn two and lost six of Hodgson's ten games in charge but the Hertfordshire outfit have kept three clean sheets during that period and Marsch is also very mindful of the Watford threat on the break.

“I think that Watford are a really disciplined, defensive group," warned United's head coach.

"They don’t give much away, they stay pretty organised, they stay very compact sometimes defending deep.

"But they are incredibly aggressive and often lethal in transition moments.

"They have the second most chances of shots in transition in counter phases in matches in the league and it’s because they really look to play to that strength so we have to be very aware of that and often Watford is most dangerous when we have the ball.

"We have to make sure that we are balanced and how compact we are in our defence phases and counter pressing phases to make sure that we don’t allow their attacking players to be in open spaces and running at our defensive group.

"It’s a little bit tricky preparing for them because they rotate a lot of players, they have a talented group, a lot of good one v one players and every time I prepare for a match in this league it is hard to find weaknesses in the ways that teams do things.

"I know that Watford is a team that is low on the table and fighting relegation but I still think that Roy Hodgson has done a good job with them, that they are disciplined and organised and it will not be an easy match for us.”

Hornets boss Hodgson will turn 75 in August but the veteran manager was filmed laying on a neat assist in training this week as his curling crossfield pass set up 20-year-old Brazilian talent Joao Pedro to fire home.

Asked if he liked to get involved on the training field like Hodgson does, Marsch - who is 26 years Hodgson's junior - reasoned: "Yeah. I like to run training sessions, if we do little exercises and we need an extra man then I can jump in and play sometimes.

"I am very very limited and I hate being that guy that looks so old on the pitch but that’s the reality of what I am.

"But in everything I do with the group I try and convey an energy that’s about being positive about being aggressive, about enjoying our work together but also getting better every day so that includes when I step out on the pitch and play a little bit.

“I have watched him (Hodgson) for years in a lot of different places.

"He has been at the national team in a lot of different places and he has had an incredible career.

"The passion that he still has at his age is something to admire and I don’t know what I’ll be doing then because one year in a manager’s life can feel like ten!"

Told that Hodgson was almost twice his age, Marsch laughed: “No he’s not!

"I have so much respect for the career that he has had and what he has accomplished in his career, no doubt.”