Nigel Pearson was pleased to see his Watford players showing togetherness in an online cycling session led by goalkeeper Ben Foster, while they are away from the pitch due to the coronavirus outbreak.

With no football likely to be played in the foreseeable future and the players still away from the training pitch due to stringent government guidelines, the players got together online for a spin session on bikes that have been provided to them by the club.

Leading the charge was cycling enthusiast Ben Foster, who even wore yellow and black Watford lycra for the session, with Craig Dawson, Troy Deeney, Adrian Mariappa, Ignacio Pussetto, Andre Gray, Daniel Bachmann and Craig Cathcart joining him for the workout via an internet video link.

Speaking on the club's new official podcast, Pearson described it as "fantastic" and said it showed his side's camaraderie, which he feels will be vital to the Hornets avoiding relegation, should the season resume.

“I saw the video that Fozzy was involved in and I just thought it was fantastic,” Pearson said.

“You look at the overall situation [in the Premier League] and our fight is still far form over. When the season returns, indeed if it restarts, we've got to try and pick up, remain positive and build on that camaraderie and that spirit is very, very important. You can't underestimate the power of positive people and togetherness.

“Those things are driven by the players. People have asked what's changed [since my arrival], but it's about setting up parameters for the players and what it said to me was it's really important we still have this ability to get together and keep in contact with each other because when we restart, and that's irrelevant right now, it's difficult to pick up where you left off.”