'I feel like teams are coming here with a little bit of fear now'
It’s the meeting of opposites at Vicarage Road tomorrow – and Tom Cleverley does not want his Watford side to disappoint their own fans, or the likely expectations of visitors Cardiff.
The Hornets are one of only six clubs in the top four divisions of English football not to have lost a home league game so far this season.
Cardiff, meanwhile, are one of just four that hasn’t won away in the league on their travels so far.
It will be a ‘home banker’ in many betting accumulators, and Cleverley wants his side to show that Vicarage Road is indeed a fortress.
“I feel like teams are coming here with a little bit of fear now, and we have to not disappoint them,” he said.
“We know it will be a tough test though, because now teams down the bottom of the league start really fighting.”
Kwadwo Baah is suspended but otherwise the Hornets have no new injury problems with only Tom Dele-Bashiru and Kevin Keben ruled out.
Although he wasn’t involved on Boxing Day, Angelo Ogbonna is fit, available and in the squad for tomorrow’s match.
“At the moment, training and match performances put Jeremy and Ryan ahead of him,” was Cleverley’s response when asked about the lack of recent action for Festy Ebosele.
Ken Sema has not played since a brief substitute appearance in the 2-2 draw at Plymouth on November 22, and has only started four games this season.
“I’ve got a number of options on the left and Ken is the unlucky player that is currently missing out,” said Cleverley.
One area Cardiff may look at for encouragement is Watford’s generally tardy start to games.
The Hornets have only led at half-time in four of their 22 Championship matches so far, and scored just eight goals in the opening 45 minutes of those games.
Conversely, they have ‘won’ 10 of 22 second halves, and scored 24 goals in the process, a figure only matched by Leeds United.
“We’re very good in second halves and the impact our substitutes have and all that, but can we stop the problem at source and be better in the first half?” was the question Cleverley posed.
“We have to have a better first half record, or a better first 20 minutes record.
“It’s a big thing that we need to address.
“We are culprits of having too many flat first halves.
“If the Jebbison chance goes in on Boxing Day then it’s a completely different football match.
“To show the resilience and patience, calmness or whatever you want to call it to go on and win the game from a goal down, that’s a massive credit to the players.”
The visit of Cardiff will see a return to Vicarage Road for their recently-appointed manager Omer Riza, who was part of the Watford first-team coaching set-up under Valerien Ismael after having been lead coach of the Under-21s.
“As I said before the postponed game there, he is someone I played for a couple of times when I was returning from injury in the Under-21s,” said Cleverley.
“His son I also coached in the Under-18s last season.
“His assistant, Richard Shaw, sat in the desk opposite me for eight months last year as well.
“There are strong connections between us and Cardiff in terms of staff, and I’m sure it’ll be a little bit classier than it was on the touchline on Boxing Day.”
