RICHARD LEE was delighted to make his first contribution to Watford's stunning start to the season on Saturday.

The keeper made his first league start of the campaign at Glanford Park after Mart Poom was ruled out with a back injury. And although he was not quite as busy as many thought he would be, Lee still showed why he is a more than capable deputy for the Estonian number one as the Hornets recorded win number seven of the Championship campaign.

"I did feel a bit rusty and it's my first game for six or seven weeks," said the 25-year-old. "It took me a while to get used to the pace of the game but there were a lot of good things to take from it. I knew I was coming into a winning team and it's a real team effort right now."

Poom has been struggling with a back problem for a month now and had two epidurals in midweek to try and ease the pain. The problem almost forced Poom off against Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday, so Lee was fully prepared to be called into action against Scunthorpe.

"Mart was struggling on Tuesday and I thought I was coming on then, to be honest," revealed Lee. "Mart managed to get through that game but I knew there was a chance I could be playing. I couldn't have been better prepared as I've trained as hard as I've ever trained in the last few weeks. It was great to get the reward of a game."

Lee was denied a clean sheet by Jonathan Forte's first-half equaliser but Darius Henderson and Marlon King secured Watford's third away win with goals in the space of three second-half minutes.

"It's an excellent result," he said. "Scunthorpe are no mugs, particularly at home, and it's the kind of the game you need to get something from. We've come here with a great attitude, been very resilient and got the three points."