Craig Cathcart knows from experience that nothing can be taken for granted in the Premier League. It’s why the Watford defender is refusing to even entertain the idea that the Hornets are well on their way to avoiding relegation from the top flight.

Back in the 2010/2011 season Cathcart was part of the Blackpool side which had stunned the Premier League.

After 17 games the Tangerines sat sixth in the table on 25 points. How could it possibly go wrong?

“Some of the lads were saying we would be safe by February or March,” Cathcart says. “We took our eye off the ball.”

Blackpool’s form dropped like a stone after New Year’s Day. They earned just 14 more points from the remaining 21 games and were relegated.

“We ended up going down by a point which was devastating,” the 26-year-old said.

“I’ve learned from that experience. The Premier League is the toughest league in the world. You can’t take anything for granted. I’ll be relaying that to the lads in the dressing room.”

One thing Watford have that Blackpool didn’t five years ago is a strike partnership which is the envy of many a Premier League side.

Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo have been excellent for the Golden Boys this season, scoring 14 of their 17 top flight goals and both netted against Norwich City on Saturday.

“They are a handful for every team,” Cathcart admits. “They work off each other and get in behind defences. They are both really strong lads who can hold up the ball too.

“They gave Norwich a bad time and then they took their chances. As long as they keep scoring and we keep on keeping clean sheets then it can only be good for us.”

Watford’s 2-0 win over Norwich lifted Quique Sanchez Flores’ side to ninth in the top flight table.

The Hornets have only been beaten by teams in the top six this season, something which Northern Ireland international Cathcart says is a very important statistic.

“For any team that has just come up from the Championship it is vital you beat the teams that are around you in the table,” he says.

“So getting wins against those teams are a bonus and when we face teams above us we haven’t looked out of place either.”