Watford manager Adrian Boothroyd's decision to stage a mock penalty shoot-out after a recent league match came following a tip from former England rugby coach Clive Woodward.
After Monday's 2-1 win over Ipswich, Boothroyd divided his 16-man squad into two teams and ordered them to take spot-kicks, with the Vicarage Road crowd requested to boo their own players.
Boothroyd believes the shoot-out will prepare his players should the real thing happen in the upcoming Championship play-offs for promotion to the Premiership.
He had the idea following a conversation with Woodward, who is now director of football at Southampton.
"Clive is a World Cup winner and I have spoken to him about his experiences of sudden-death situations," Boothroyd said.
"He came up with the idea of staging the shoot-out, which I thought was great."
Many in football have questioned the wisdom of bringing Woodward into the game, but Boothroyd believes the 50-year-old has plenty to offer.
"If a guy has won a World Cup, he has to be very, very good at something," he added. "We should welcome him into the game." PA
