Cleverley said Watford's long-awaited away win tasted sweet

The 2-0 win at Derby was pretty much exactly what was needed after a sequence of one draw and four defeats which saw the Hornets concede 12 goals.

“It tasted sweet that one, and doubly sweet that we managed to get a clean sheet,” beamed a clearly delighted Tom Cleverley.

“The clean sheet has been long awaited away from home, and the players have done a lot of work on getting more clean sheets.

“And then you have to work doubly hard when you go from a five to a four.

“I thought James Abankwah gave us great balance with his defensive qualities at full-back.

“The wingers were selfless today with their work going backwards and still effecting the game going forwards.

“It was a really solid performance. They had a couple of chances but then we could have been out of sight in the second half.”

Once again, the Watford head coach referred to the obvious unity between the fans, himself and his players.

“I’m delighted that today was a representation that the whole club is still together: the players, the staff, the supporters,” he said.

“The fact we’ve been dealt a few setbacks recently and still came out swinging today means now we’re looking back up the table again and only one point off fifth.”

For once, it was the Hornets who struck first – Imran Louza’s goal was Watford’s quickest away from home since Ben Wilmot netted inside five minutes at QPR in November 2020.

“It settles the nerves and it was nice for once to be on the front foot, and be the team taking hold of the game,” said Cleverley.

“Derby came back into it and we know they are fantastic at getting the ball wide and having a direction of how they’re going to score.

“They fill the box brilliantly and we knew it would be a big test of our back line.

“But we showed resilience, and Jonathan Bond came up with some important moments.

“I am delighted for the boys.”

Throughout the game, the 2,000-strong away corner chanted Cleverley’s name and sang songs to show their unwavering support for him.

“I said to the boys afterwards that every person in that dressing room deserved their name to be sung today,” he responded.

“I saw a group of players that were willing to sacrifice themselves for their team and for this football club.

“Everyone was prepared to put in a real performance for the shirt and for each other.

“I thoroughly appreciate the support when it’s my name being sung but I feel like everyone deserved their name singing today.”

And, for the first time since November 2, the bus pulled out of an away ground with a victory to savour.

“We’re focussed on ourselves, but when the table looks a lot sweeter than it did two hours ago then that helps,” said Cleverley.

“We have another quick turnaround, there’s a lot of football still to be played and we have another game on Tuesday.

“I’ll enjoy this for a couple of hours on the bus on the way back and then focus on Preston.”

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