'We need a club where we are all supporting each other'
On a night when the entire attendance at another FA Cup tie was just over 6,000, Tom Cleverley said the 4,200-plus Watford fans who got behind the team through the 4-1 defeat at Fulham sum up what the club needs right now.
Although it was a comparatively short journey, to take so many on a bitterly cold Thursday night, and to have them sing and chant in support throughout, epitomised the togetherness that the Watford head coach is trying to engender as the Hornets go through a poor run of results.
“I think that away following represents exactly what we need in this period, and that is a club where we are all supporting each other, and sticking together,” said Cleverley.
“I saw enough today to know we have a group of players willing to sacrifice themselves for the team and to work as hard as they can for those supporters.
“That’s the mentality we need as a club.”
It could have been a more rewarding night for Cleverley, his players and the fans had they not handed Fulham the lead so soon after the start of the second half.
Having gone a goal down, a stunning Rocco Vata strike meant they went in level at the break.
But only a couple of minutes after the restart Antonio Tikvic conceded a needless penalty and, once they had converted it, Fulham never gave Watford a sniff of getting back into the game for a second time.
“We gifted them a goal straight after half-time which is shooting yourself in the foot, especially when their quality can be so unforgiving,” admitted Cleverley.
“I think it was good for a few of our players to see the levels in English football and how strong the Premier League is.
“But I was really pleased with the first-half performance.
“We were really disciplined out of possession and had good transition moments.
“I was happy with some of the players who haven’t seen too much of the pitch this season.”
As expected, Cleverley made a number of changes to his starting line-up – seven in all – whereas Fulham rotated fewer of their players.
“In our festive period we had one more fixture than Fulham and that was maybe why we had to make more changes,” Cleverley explained.
“We’ve got our game in hand to play next midweek, and it was just simply a game where I couldn’t risk too many.
“But I was pleased to give those players opportunities and see them taken them in the first half.”
One player who came in for praise was striker Mamadou Doumbia, who made his first senior start for Watford and often had to plough a lone furrow against an experience and physical Fulham central defence.
“I was really pleased with his performance,” said Cleverley.
“When to press the ball, when to stay and protect, how aggressive he was, plus his hold-up play and his quality.
“Obviously with Jebbison leaving the club he is someone we are going to be relying on more now and I thought it was a real good full debut.”
