Veteran Watford striker Chris Iwelumo believes the club’s recruitment policy has been vindicated by their league position at this stage of the season.

The 34 year-old forward, who joined Oldham Athletic on-loan last week, told Sky Sports News that the influx of foreign loan signings has paid off so far.

"I think from last season there's probably two or three players that are still involved," he said.

"Jonathan Hogg's playing quite a bit, Yeatesy (Mark Yeates ) is in and out, (Nyron) Nosworthy's in and out.

"The rest are new players so it is a difficult one to take but we're doing well so you can't really complain.”

Watford’s summer recruitment drive, which saw them loan in 14 players and sign two more on a permanent basis, drew criticism from some fans of other clubs and pundits alike, but with Gianfranco Zola’s side sitting fourth in the Championship, it looks to have paid off.

Iwelumo certainly doesn’t have a grudge to bear with Zola, who used the former Burnley forward frequently, during the opening months of the season.

“He made me captain, I was captain for August and the full month of September. I started every match so it's just one of those things," he continued.

"The gaffer was brilliant with me. I can't fault him, he's been absolutely fantastic for me."