Cleverley looks ahead to ‘pivotal week’ for Watford.
Two home fixtures, a long midweek away trip and nine points to play for – the week ahead is a big one for Watford.
They host Sunderland at Vicarage Road tomorrow (Saturday), then head to Preston on Wednesday night before returning to WD18 the following Saturday to face Middlesbrough.
Then comes the second international break of the season and so, as well as the chance to potentially add nine points to their tally and move up the table, the fact there is then a pause in proceedings makes this an even more significant seven days.
They host Sunderland at Vicarage Road tomorrow (Saturday), then head to Preston on Wednesday night before returning to WD18 the following Saturday to face Middlesbrough.
Then comes the second international break of the season and so, as well as the chance to potentially add nine points to their tally and move up the table, the fact there is then a pause in proceedings makes this an even more significant seven days.
“This is a pivotal week for us,” admitted Tom Cleverley.
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“While I don’t want to overplay it, it’s something I’ve let the lads know.
“When you can pick up nine points in seven days and two of them are home games, then we need a response from our last league performance.
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“It’s the sort of week that can really direct the way your season goes.”
In both of the last two home league games Derby and Coventry, the visitors have scored inside five minutes.
What sort of dynamic is Cleverley hoping for between players and fans to help stop that trend, and also to calm any nerves that will understandably be there early on?
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“I always say the catalyst is the players, so we have to give the fans something to react to,” he replied.
“Now if we can try and drive each other then that’s great, but we want to be the catalysts for them to have a really good day out, creating an atmosphere.
“It’s likely there are going to be some nerves in the first five minutes but we won’t be feeding off any uncertainty: we will creative the narrative ourselves.”
Four consecutive league wins put Sunderland top of the table, and they still sit second despite losing their first game at Plymouth recently.
“After facing them at the end of last season they were a team I thought were really good on the ball,” Cleverley said.
“They’ve got energy, they pass and move, they’ve got good rotations, and they are comfortable in possession.
“They were a team I was impressed with, and so I’m not surprised to see the start they have.
“We’ll have to respect them, and value all the key qualities I’ve talked about.
“If you don’t follow runners, win duels and things like that, then they will be a tough team to play against.
“But we are in a good moment in possession and creating a lot of chances, and I’m sure we’ll cause them just as many problems.”
