Watford boss Adrian Boothroyd will vote for Reading counterpart Steve Coppell as his manager of the year.

The Royals are seventh in the Barclays Premiership and closing in on European qualification after an impressive debut season in the top flight.

Coppell is playing down the achievement, taking the pragmatic view that Reading are not yet prepared for the rigours of a European campaign.

But Boothroyd, who has studied closely why Reading succeeded where relegated Watford failed, is leading the Coppell fan club.

He explained: "At the end of the season you receive the letter asking you to pick your manager of the year.

"The criteria is 'who has done the best with the resources at their disposal?' For me, that's Steve Coppell by a mile.

"Without a shadow of a doubt, Steve Coppell would be my manager of the year. I think he's done great.

"The job he's done at Reading is a credit to teams coming up from the Championship. They've become a model now and they've got to keep that going.

"I thought Reading would stay up and be mid-table, but I didn't think they'd get to Europe.

"It's a hell of an achievement if Reading do get into Europe.

"Steve was kind enough to give me a call from his holidays when we got promotion last year and I really appreciated that.

"He's one I look to and have a lot of respect for because he's not always had it great, but it's a credit how he's doing now."

Boothroyd admits he would be getting carried away if Watford had enjoyed anywhere near the same success this season as Coppell has delivered for Reading. But that is not Coppell's way.

"He's terrific and he's so good at playing things down and not getting carried away - but you just want him to get excited," laughed Boothroyd.

"If I was sat here now with Watford in seventh place you wouldn't be able to get my head through the door!

"I'd be saying we can win the Premiership and that we can win the World Cup!

"I'm not like Steve, he's brilliant and very experienced and calm. I'd love to see Reading get that European place because Steve would have to smile!

"Actually, he probably won't, but I'm sure he'll smile behind closed doors.

"Steve is a very intelligent, astute, bright man and his way of managing might not be in your face, but he certainly gets results."

Boothroyd has been studying those results and the Reading blueprint closely as he looks to bounce Watford straight back into the Premiership next season.

"I've done a case study on Reading in terms of what they do, how they've done it. I think they're a great model for Championship teams," said Boothroyd.

"The first question I ask is 'why are we at the bottom and why are they seventh?' Then you get into all the factors that surround that.

"What we did was terrific in getting promoted but we've been on a hamster's treadmill in many respects. "Reading would probably be the only team with Bolton that have come into the Premier League, stayed in the Premier League and done well without any kind of sugar daddy.

"That is because they had time to develop as a team. The defence have been together for three and a half years, the midfield pair of Kevin Harper and Steve Sidwell have been together for four years.

"The great thing Steve did was to keep those players together for so long and help them develop.

"Reading finished sixth or seventh for a few years in the Championship and then they went up, breaking the record with 106 points.

By contrast, Watford lacked that same experience because they won promotion "on the fast track" through the play-offs last season.

But Boothroyd is determined to keep his squad together and is confident they can return stronger from a year in the Championship.

He added: "Watford are very much going in the right direction.

"Your Marlon Kings and Hameur Bouazzas, who may have attracted interest, without a shadow of a doubt will be staying," he said.