Tom Cleverley makes surprise claim after Watford's battling Hull City draw

Tom Cleverley praised Ruben Selles as he felt the 1-1 draw at Hull City on Wednesday night was a point gained for his Watford side.

City looked on course for a first win under Selles, who only took charge fully on Monday, when Chris Bedia scored after 82 minutes at the MKM Stadium, only for Rocco Vata to turn in six minutes later and deny the Spaniard what would have a first victory in 12 attempts.

As it was, the point ended City's dreadful run of six straight defeats and moved them to within a point of safety, albeit having played two games more than Portsmouth, who are just outside the bottom three.

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Though Watford arguably shaded the first period, Selles' Tigers were dominant in the second and deservedly took the lead through substitute Bedia, only for another late arrival in Republic of Ireland youngster Vate to break Tigers hearts.

Cleverley declared himself pleased with a hard-earned point on the road in East Yorkshire, though he did raise concerns about the playing surface, suggesting it hampered his side in the second period.

“We knew it wouldn’t be easy coming here this evening with a new manager in Ruben, who is a top coach," Cleverley told reporters at the MKM Stadium. Their new manager bounce – it felt a bit siege mentality – so it feels like a point gained.

“I thought in the first half we showed good periods of quality and personality on the ball. We knew they would come with a high press and it was all about having the character to try and break through that.

“Then, in the second half, as the pitch cut up, we maybe tried overplaying because all their chances seemed to come from low turnovers from us, and it was maybe up to me to find the solution. Maybe this is where we should have gone a little bit more direct because the pitch wasn’t lending itself to playing football.

“We couldn’t change the momentum of the game in the second half, so I was really pleased with the player’s character to get the equaliser after going a goal behind.

“But Rocco’s an excellent finisher. He’s hungry to score goals, and I’m sure he’ll get many more for this club. It will do a lot for his confidence. He’s earned us a point this evening.”