SATURDAY's depressing home defeat to Everton will not live long in the memory of many connected with Watford but the game represented quite a turnaround for Tamas Priskin.

Jeered by some sections of the crowd after a half-hearted showing against Accrington Stanley in the Carling Cup back in September, Priskin strutted around in the second-half with a real swagger to chants of Super Tamas Priskin' following an impressive 45-minute cameo.

Not only did the Hungarian international fashion three chances on goal in the space of five minutes, the 20-year-old showed he may be adapting to the physical side of the English game when he jostled with the no-nonsense Joseph Yobo just after the hour.

"I thought he did very well," said Aidy Boothroyd. "Maybe people thought Tamas should have got his chance sooner but he had to have a settling in period.

"He's been indifferent of late but he's coming in to some real form at the minute. Being away with the national team seems to have given him more confidence.

"I've always thought he was going to be a really good player for us but I didn't want to push him too soon. I want him to be a star not a shooting star.

"He's only 20 - you don't stop growing until you are 24. He's still got a fair way to go. Technically he is excellent, he'll get kicked and get up again and I'm expecting big things from him."

The six-figure sum Boothroyd shelled out on Priskin looked questionable following a series of half-hearted showings, particularly away at Portsmouth and Aston Villa.

Priskin, himself, must have wondered if he had made the right move when he was sent off away at Fulham and then saw his first goal for the club expunged from the record books when the Wigan game was washed out.

However, Priskin showed the potential Boothroyd has been talking about against Everton, and he looks more like the player who has scored four goals in six games for his country.

Said Priskin: "At first it was tough. Hungary is very different, the game is much slower. You must be stronger over here as the game is much faster. The defenders are very strong. It was difficult against Sol Campbell and Olaf Mellberg.

"My best performance was against Wigan when I scored my first goal - it was just a shame the game finished too early. I was a bit angry because my goal does not count and I will have to score again.

"I was very happy when I came on against Everton," he added. "I had a lot of shots on target and next time I must hit the target. When I came on I wanted to enjoy the game - I wanted to play well and I just wanted to score."

It was Priskin's goals in pre-season - three in four games - that persuaded Boothroyd to hand him a four-year contract and force him to leave home.

"I moved to Hungary when I was 14 from Slovakia and I lived there alone so it was not new for me," he said. "I still speak to my family every day - I miss them a little bit.

"I came on trial for a week and the gaffer offered me a contract. It was a dream for me as I've always wanted to play in the Premier League - it's the best league in the world."