Cast your mind back to April 2012. It was a very, very different time for Watford Football Club.

It was a time where the name Pozzo was one few Hornets supporters had heard of. A time where an 11th place finish in the Championship under Sean Dyche was rightly deemed an outstanding season.

And a time where 18-year-old midfielder Sean Murray was emerging as one of the brightest young talents outside of the Premier League.

Fast forward a little over three years and things are strikingly different. Watford are a Premier League side. Every supporter is well aware of the Pozzo name. And Murray is facing an uphill battle to earn a place in the Hornets’ match day squad let alone the starting XI.

So here is a loaded question. Has Murray’s development suffered more than any other player since the Pozzo takeover?

After all, in his breakthrough campaign, the Ireland Under-21 international scored seven goals in 18 Championship matches. He has added just four in the subsequent 56 league games since the takeover.

The Watford Observer posed that question to the 21-year-old on a warm Saturday afternoon during the Hornets’ pre-season training camp in Germany.

Murray paused before answering. It was a measured response.

“It is difficult,” he admitted. “There are new players coming in every summer and this season we have a new manager who is another person I have to impress.

“Yes, I haven’t played as much as maybe I would want to but there have been seasons [since the Pozzos’ arrival] where I’ve played quite a few matches.

“And at my age I am still learning. I am learning every day from the new players coming in because they are excellent players who I think will do really well in the Premier League.

“I am still developing and can only improve. If I am honest, I think it is better that I have a place to fight for here at Watford rather than being comfortable in a lesser team.”

Murray certainly has that. His battle for first-team football has become harder than ever following the Hornets’ promotion to the Premier League.

What was a strong Watford squad has been further enhanced this summer with the signings of full internationals such as Etienne Capoue and Valon Behrami.

The stakes have risen. Murray, who has only just returned to training following a knee ligament injury, is well aware of that.

“Would I like to play every game? Of course, but I know that will not happen,” he explained. “I would like to be playing regular football again, especially after a long injury, but I think you only get one chance to prove yourself in the Premier League and this season is a massive opportunity for me.

“When you are young you dream of playing in the Premier League. I’ve got that chance and it is something I would love to do.”

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The Academy graduate continued: “When the Pozzos came here they set out what they wanted to achieve. We are now in the Premier League, so they have done their job.

“I like to think I have helped the club get there too but it is not about whether or not I am playing. It is about what is best for the club.”

But what happens if, come late October for instance, Murray hasn’t managed to make a single appearance in the top flight? Would he then look to leave on loan? Apparently not.

“Watford have always wanted me in and around the squad,” he said. “Whether that was just travelling to games, being on the bench and coming on or starting matches.

“The club have always wanted me to be involved in some aspect. I haven’t ever had the opportunity to go out on loan before and it’s like I said, you only get one chance in the Premier League. I want to take mine.”

While several new players have arrived this summer very few have departed.

However, the most notable permanent exit has been goalkeeper and Murray’s good friend Jonathan Bond.

The England Under-21 international left the Hornets in search of regular first-team football and joined Championship side Reading.

“I’ve been playing with Bondy since I was 12,” he said. “He deserved the chance to be a number one.

“The last couple of seasons here he has had two top class goalkeepers in front of him. He deserves to be playing because he has worked hard and has got himself into the England Under-21 squad. Like me he needs games. It is his time.”

Murray’s determination to prove himself at Watford perhaps stems from the fact he turned down the chance to leave the Hornets for one of the ‘top four’ sides in the past.

At the age of 16, and after shining for the Hornets’ youth sides, Murray was approached by Manchester City.

He had a difficult choice to make. Either stay at the club who first signed him at the age of eight or head north to the newly rich Sky Blues.

“When you are 16 and someone like Manchester City comes in for you, you do think ‘wow, Manchester City. They are a great club’,” he said.

“Fortunately I had good people around me and good people at Watford who told me that probably wasn’t the best idea.

“I thank them for helping me make that choice because if I’d left Watford for them I don’t think I would be anywhere now to be honest.

“I was good friends with my coach at the time, Nick Cox, and he told me that I would have a great chance here at Watford.

“He wasn’t the only one. Malky [Mackay] also told me at that time that he saw me playing in the first team in the next couple of years, something that ultimately happened. So if I had thrown that chance away at 16 I think I would have looked back and been very annoyed with myself.”

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At City Murray’s chances of breaking into the first-team would have been slim to none given the number of high-profile additions the club have signed over the past five years.

But could the same now be said for those youngsters looking to break into Watford’s first-team squad?

Since the Pozzos’ arrival, the Golden Boys have signed a total of 64 different players. It is a far cry from the days the Hornets would often name six or seven Academy graduates in their match day squad.

“It has changed but it is the same for every young player at any club,” Murray admitted.

“Of course it is possible for young players but it will always be difficult to break through into a first team.

“You simply don’t see it too much anymore. It will be hard for any young player but the young lads who have been out in Germany haven’t looked out of place. It shows we still have talent in the Academy.”

Murray concluded by stating: “We have come a very long way from when I was a young kid here.

“It has all changed. I think we are a proper club now.

"You just have to look at how good the stadium looks with the four stands and how good the training ground facilities are with the new pitches and new gym.

“When I started Watford didn’t have the money for that. They didn’t have money to make all these signings which is why they put such an effort into making the Academy a great place to be.

“But now I think we are a club that deserve to be in the Premier League and that is down to Mr Pozzo.”