GIANFRANCO Zola said facing Wycombe Wanderers was just the preparation his Watford side needed ahead of their opening league match.

The former Chelsea legend thanked his opposite number Gary Waddock at the end of a tough encounter for the Championship side, who scraped through to the second round of the Capital One Cup thanks to Chris Iwelumo’s late goal.

The new Hornets boss was relieved to see his side scrape an extra time victory against a team two divisions below, as his first match in charge ended in a win.

Zola told the Bucks Free Press: “I just congratulated Gary and the whole staff. They played very well and caused us a lot of problems.

“It was a very hard test and it was exactly what I was looking for, so I’m actually very pleased the game ended up like this.”

The Italian felt at times however Wanderers were able to dictate the play against their higher graded opponents, a view shared by Waddock.

Zola said: “We were too slow and we allowed them [Wanderers] to be in the right positions.”