Ed Still has promised Watford fans "fast, attacking football" from his team as he looks to make a winning start as head coach.
The Belgian was a surprise appointment to succeed Javi Gracia - who ended his second spell at Vicarage Road by resigning after three months - and admitted the last few days had been a "whirlwind".
The 35-year-old has consulted younger brother Will, the former Southampton boss, about what to expect from the Championship as he looks to steer the Hornets to victory over Preston on Saturday and promotion this season.
"It's tough, it isn't the same as European football - it's super, super, super competitive, I think it's the most competitive league across Europe," he told the BBC's 72+ EFL podcast.
"We've watched English football all our lives, from Premier League down throughout the Football League and he [Will] said to me 'once you're in it, you realise how physical and more direct it is than what we're used to'."
'I am definitely not a manager'
Still has taken over with Watford in 12th place, only three points away from the play-off places, but without a win in six games.
And he said that in the short term, whatever his preferred approach might be "doesn't matter".
He continued: "This isn't about style and philosophy and massive principles and all of that, it's about how we're going to win at Preston on Saturday.
"Everything we do between now and Saturday is just about that, about how compact and how aggressive we're going to be without the ball, how fast our transitions are going to be.
"We're going to do it by being aggressive and playing fast, attacking football - we're not going to be a slow tempo, possession team and hopefully the fans can identify with that, enjoy it, and hopefully that's going to energise them as well."
The former Anderlecht assistant manager is the 14th person, not counting interim bosses, to take charge of Watford since September 2019 when Gracia left the club for the first time.
But he has made it clear to owner Gino Pozzo and other senior club officials exactly how he sees his role.
"I am 100% a head coach, I am definitely not a manager - I am just a cog in Watford FC, the players are more important than me, the fans are more important than me," he said.
"I was really clear with that, 'if you're looking for a manager, don't call me. I'm not your guy if you're looking for a manager'.
"One of the things in the chats and discussions we've had is that one of the jobs I've got is to bring all the people behind the scenes together, to make sure all of the departments are working together, which maybe hasn't been the case previously with the different coaches or managers that have been here."
Still said that during talks before his appointment on a two-and-a-half-year contract, he was pleasantly surprised to find how closely his thinking was aligned to the owner's vision and the overall set-up the club wants.
"It is a difficult thing to find in football," he said. "I've been in many clubs, in many different countries, in different roles, so I can't tell you how pleased and how excited I am about the coming weeks.
"We've got to win on Saturday and the week after and the week after that. That is the most important thing - but beyond that there is a big part about developing players.
"There's also a clear methodology in terms of performance and physical preparation that's already in place here and they want somebody to come in and embrace that. There are lots of different schools (of thought) on physical performance and preparation, so to see that and get my head round that was a big positive."
Still said he had no problem being thought of as a 'left-field appointment' or with some fans thinking they had misread the news and that it should have been his brother's name in the frame.
His aspiration is to be in the job as long as possible - which has not been the case for many Watford bosses in recent years.
When speaking to Pozzo, he said, the owner accepted automatic promotion was not out of reach but expecting to achieve it was being "super ambitious".
Still added: "If we do, fantastic, but we want to challenge for promotion via the play-offs. There are lots of teams in and about the play-offs so it could be any of six, seven, eight teams that gets one of those spots.
"Short-term that's the ambition. Longer-term it is to be pushing and challenging to get to the Premier League and then once we get there to be competitive in it."