Obbi Oulare said he became a man in England, despite finding life difficult with Watford.

The Belgian joined the Hornets in 2015, but featured just three times for them in all competitions.

In May, it was announced that the forward would be joining Standard Liege on a permanent basis following a string of loan moves away from Vicarage Road.

Since arriving at Watford from Bruges, Oulare has spent time at Zulte Waregem, Willem II, Antwerp and Liege and, speaking to Belgian publication Sport/Foot, he admits that he had "problems" that made his time in England more difficult than he had hoped it would be.

"Now it's easy to say I would have done better to stay in Bruges, but we'll never know," said Oulare.

"It's always easier to make a good decision when you have had similar experiences in your career.

"In football terms, I was ready. In other terms, I was not necessarily ready. I had private problems, it was a little complicated that time.

"But, I see also positive in this adventure, I learned a lot in England, that's where I became a man. In difficulty, mentally, you progress. When things are very difficult, you learn even more."

Prior to his loan move from Watford, Oulare had spent time at Liege as a youngster, but struggled to cope with homesickness.

While with the club, aged 16, the striker lived in a boarding school, an experience he said he was not ready for.

"The training was ok," he said of Liege, "but at the boarding school, it was wrong for me and I never settled.

"I am too much of a family person for that and I was too attached to my parents to live without them at 16.

"I arrived at the boarding school on Monday morning, I stayed there on Friday evening for the Saturday match, then I went home for only a few hours.

"When Bruges came for me, it was perfect, it meant I could go back to live with my parents again."

Oulare's career has been physically challenging as well as mentally.

The player believes recurring hip and back problems prevented him from achieving his full potential, while deciding to play through the pain created further issues.

"When all my problems came It was not easy for me.

"The two and a half years that passed were not easy, but when we finally understood where my injuries came from, I knew that I had to have an operation.

"I never found it was the right time, so I played on with it. Eventually it became too much and I just had to go and get it done.

"Now it's much better, I think I'm finally rid of my problems."