Watford boss Mazzarri in no doubt the Premier League has improved this season

This may be Walter Mazzarri’s first year in England but the Watford manager insists he can already tell that the standard in the Premier League has drastically improved this season.

The 2015/16 campaign will go down as one of the greatest – if not the greatest – in Premier League history after 5,000-1 hopefuls Leicester City claimed the most unexpected of titles.

But while last season will be remembered for being one of the most unforgettable, for fans of many of the top clubs they will want to erase it from their memory quickly as their team underperformed.

There is a strong argument to be made that the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea – to name a few – have all improved on last season, not to mention many of the smaller clubs such as Bournemouth and Mazzarri’s own Watford.

Watford goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes makes a save during the Premier League match between Swansea. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

The former Napoli and Inter Milan boss watched on from his native Italy during the 2015/16 campaign and has no doubt the division is tougher this time around – although his side face one of their easier games of the campaign on Saturday when they welcome Hull City.

Mazzarri, who replaced Quique Sanchez Flores in the summer, said: “In this new Premier League season, all the teams have become much stronger and got better compared to last year.

“We don’t tend to really look at the statistics because, for example, we managed to beat Middlesbrough at their ground but the next week they drew at the Emirates Stadium against Arsenal.

“We need to be ready [against Hull] and we need to go to play in our best possible way, always respecting the opponent.”