Reading manager Steve Clarke is adamant Watford will finish in the top six and has tipped them to achieve automatic promotion.

Clarke was speaking after his first game in charge of The Royals ended with a 1-0 defeat at the hands of the Hornets.

Clarke said: “I’m sure Watford will be in the top six at the end of the season and if they get things right then they will be in the top two; they are that good and they have a really good squad. They can be right there.

“Watford will be a top six team and we showed today we can match them and the only thing we couldn’t do was put the ball in the net.”

Clarke was a coach with the youth team at Chelsea during Slavisa Jokanovic’s two-year stint at Stamford Bridge between 2000 and 2002.

The pair didn’t work today closely but Clarke praised the Serbian’s character.

Clarke said: “When Joka – that is what they called him at Chelsea – was at the club, he was an experienced player and part of the first team squad so we didn’t come across each other much during that time.

“[But] I always found him to be a very polite and personable man. He would never just walk past you in the corridor [without acknowledging you]. He was always polite and proper and I wish him well for the future.”

Watford were wasteful in possession in the first half at the Madejski Stadium before being reduced to ten men just before the break.

Gabriele Angella received a second yellow card for handball after falling over when making a tackle on the corner of the area.

Clarke believes it was a red card but suggested it wouldn’t have been in years gone by.

The likeable Scot said: “It was two yellow cards. If I was Joka then I would be upset but it was two yellow cards and unfortunately that is the way the game has gone. It was a handball on the edge of the box and it was a foul so that is the way the game is.”

Watford didn’t create many clear-cut chances and Clarke was happy with his players’ attitude and application.

He was also pleased with the way Reading “understood” the Golden Boys’ 3-5-2 formation, which he recognised has caused other teams problems.

The Hornets performed admirably in the second half when down to ten men and Almen Abdi scored the winner with 20 minutes remaining.

Clarke believes Angella’s dismissal was a blessing in disguise, saying “In a strange way the sending off actually helped Watford because it cemented their game plan and their state of mind in the second half. The second half was always going to be a game where the first goal was crucial and unfortunately for us it fell for them when we had missed two or three really good chances to make it 1-0 to us.

“After that it became a bit of a scrap and when you are in a negative moment, as the team are just now, then it becomes difficult to make the ball fall for you and get that result.”

Read Jokanovic's comments on his team's 1-0 win here.