Yahoo Sport 
Porteous thinks facing Luton at Kenilworth Road is just the game for him
If you are one of the fans that has shared what their Watford team would be to face Luton and have selected Ryan Porteous because he’s the right man for the occasion, then the Scottish international agrees with you.
Despite having something of an up-and-down start to the season personally, Porteous was part of the Hornets side that won 3-2 at Millwall on the opening day – the sort of occasion where big characters and similarly-sized cojones are the order of the day.
In the 18 months he’s been at Vicarage Road, the 25-year-old has shown he is a man you’d want alongside you in the trenches.
One of those robust, non-nonsense, fully committed characters who shows no fear.
And it’s those qualities that have come high on the list among fans selecting the XI they think can give Watford their first win at Kenilworth Road for 18 years on Saturday.
Porteous is in total agreement.
“This is my game, I definitely think that,” he said, on the back of perhaps his best performance of the season so far in the win over Middlesbrough last time out.
“I’ve felt back to myself in the last few weeks in particular moments in games, but now I feel good and back to my best.
“It’s a game I’ve been looking forward to playing in, and I didn’t enjoy the last time I played in it because the result was poor.
“But we have a completely different squad mentality now to take on these games.
“Every time I go out anywhere and bump into a Watford fan, they always talk about this game, and it was similar to when I was in Scotland and everyone talked about the Hibs/Hearts derby.
“We know it’s massive for the club and the fans, but it’s massive for the players as well.
“We have to take all the good things we’ve done this season, and replicate them on Saturday.
“We’re in a really good place right now and they’ve not hit form, but we know form goes out the window in these games.
“Our job is to play to the best of our abilities and get our form to stay where it is.”
Although he had played in Edinburgh derbies, Porteous admits to being taken aback when Watford visited Luton in 2023.
Porteous in action for Hibs against Hearts. (Image: REUTERS)
“I knew about the derby, but playing in the game changes it a little bit for you and you can see how massive it is,” he recalled.
“It took me by surprise a little bit, but in a good way.
“We know they will be a physical team, and we expect that.
“When we played Millwall away at the start of the season it was the same, and we sort of played them at their own game.
“We’ll battle to earn the right to play, and then look to build from there.”
Porteous mentions not enjoying his first taste of derby action, and he wouldn’t be alone in that – anyone of a Watford leaning would have been left miserable after that 2-0 defeat in April 2023.
“There was definitely a lot of quality in our team when we lost 2-0 that day, but I think this current team has a lot more battle in it, and a lot more spirit,” said Porteous.
“There were great players in that team two years ago, but who were perhaps not suited for that type of game.
“We’re in a lot better place now to be able to battle.
“We have togetherness and I think in games like this that is what will win it for you.
“I’ve only been here 18 months but I’ve seen a lot, because a lot goes on at Watford.
“The lows get highlighted more than the good things we’re doing, but the attitude and feeling in the building is the polar opposite from when I signed and that shows in games like the Middlesbrough match where we dug in.
“We had experienced players on the park for 60 minutes and then brought on our matchwinners at the end.
“That shows the sort of squad we’ve got that we have people who can come off the bench and win us games.
“Going behind in games is not something we want to keep doing, we want to be getting a lead.
“But when we have gone behind we’ve shown the spirit in the squad, and the depth there is in the group.”
Diving in to block at Stoke last season. (Image: Action Images)
Porteous was part of a Watford side that, last season, looked better on the road than they did at Vicarage Road.
“Our away form this season hasn’t been good but the home form’s been great,” Porteous pointed out.
“It’s the complete opposite from last season, where we were better in away games than at home.
“Our priority this season was to get our home form back and get the fans back believing – they never left us, but we needed to give them belief in the squad.
“The next thing is taking two steps forward and then two more, rather than winning at home but then dropping points away.
“Our goal is to go there on Saturday and get three points.”
The game at Kenilworth Road will come only 127 days after Porteous was sent off in Scotland’s opening Euro 2024 Finals game with Germany, conceding a penalty in the process as the Scots were thumped 5-1.
The glare of a major finals can turn into an interrogatory spotlight when something goes wrong, and Porteous attracted significant media scrutiny on the day of the game and for some time after.
Even the strongest of characters are severely tested in such circumstances, and the defender has had to balance overcoming what happened with the start of a new season where he has not automatically been a first choice.
He says he believes you have to accept the incident is there with you, rather than trying to forget about it.
“I spoke to loads of people about this, and I don’t think you can just put it to one side. It’s always going to be with you,” he said honestly.
“But you have to try to use it and bounce back from the adversity, which I’ve done countless times in my career and that is what I’m aiming to do again.
“I’m not going to hide away from the fact that what happened in the summer had a real impact on me.
“I didn’t want to talk about it to start with, but then the more you talk about it the better it gets.
Training with Scotland teammate Anthony Ralston. (Image: PA)
“It took me a while to get to where I am now, and there are many people in life who have had to work hard to do similar.
“It brought me a different perspective on life generally as well.
“I’m lucky that what happened in the summer is the worst thing that has happened to me.
“People lose family members and I’ve never had to go through that. I wouldn’t try and compare the two, but it’s that sort of feeling.
“It does take a while to recover, but having good people in your world to talk to about it is probably the best thing.”
Despite his on-field persona of being feisty and combative, Porteous is a very calm, considered and thoughtful interviewee.
He’s honest and forthright too, so while his preparedness to ‘go into battle’ is obvious, his ability to be a leader and handle the big occasions mentally as well as physically might get overlooked.
“You have to play the game, not the occasion,” he advised.
“We have an experienced team but also some youth coming through that can really benefit from playing in a game like this.
“There is a little bit of a different feeling preparing for this game, perhaps a little bit more excitement.
“In training there is feeling of getting battle ready, but I think that’s something we’ve had all season.
“There have been a couple of games where we’ve dipped but on the whole we’ve got ourselves into a good place.
“Not a lot has changed this week, but I can also sense the lads are right at it.”
Watford supporters will be in the minority at Kenilworth Road on Saturday, but a big character like Porteous helps even things up – what would he say to those making the bus journey to Bedfordshire?
“My message to the supporters would be to keep doing what you’re doing.
“Bring that atmosphere from The Vic to Luton, and I fully expect a strong travelling support that will be loud for us.”
