Watford's reputation as an outstanding attacking side will result in an increasing number of opposing teams sitting deep and inviting the Hornets to break them down.

It was a tactic which worked perfectly for bottom-of-the-table Bristol City on Tuesday night and it is something defender Nyron Nosworthy accepts will become an on-going problem in the future.

“Yes definitely; their fight is different to our fight after all,” Nosworthy replied when asked if he expected similar tactical problems in the coming months.

“As the boss said, it does not matter where teams are in the league, they will make it difficult for you and work very hard and never give up.

“That is exactly what Bristol City did. They dug deep, had a game plan and it worked for them and I think that is something we will have to deal with [in the future].

“For us as football players, we believe in this philosophy of passing football so we will just have to deal with it. The best teams do all the time so we are another team expected to do the same.”

Nosworthy was just one of five players who started on Saturday at Nottingham Forest and retained his place three days later at the City Ground, with Gianfranco Zola making six changes to the line-up.

Watford’s influx of signings in the summer has left Zola with the difficult job of trying to keep the whole squad happy whilst maintaining the stability needed to mount a serious promotion push.

When asked if it is difficult for the players when there are a host of changes to the line-up like on Tuesday night, Nosworthy said: “Sometimes, obviously people need a run of games to get things going.

“Everyone needs a chance. Everyone trains together so everyone knows the demands and everyone is trying to prove that they should be playing.”

He continued: “We lacked that cutting edge in terms of getting around the back of Bristol City and we lacked that bit of desire as a team as a whole.

“Fair play to the opposition; they dug in well and worked their socks off. It goes to show that we are a good team and how teams respect us. This is what we will have to come up against if we want to compete against the best.”

Watford would have climbed into the automatic places for the first time this season if they had been victorious on Tuesday night.

The excitement among supporters and the town in general is starting to build but Nosworthy insists the players remain focussed.

“It is not really being talked about; that is the truth,” Nosworthy said.

“Usually with a club doing well, everyone is talking about it; fans are talking about it and that’s the talk in the changing room, but we have a very relaxed and colourful changing room and the boss and his staff have made it that way.

“No one is talking about what could happen. It is just about performing every game to the best of our ability and seeing where that leads us.”