The signing of Mario Suarez has taken the competition for a place in Watford’s midfield up a notch - he is a Spanish international and La Liga winner after all. 

But Ben Watson is ready to fight for his place in the side and history suggests you’d be a fool to write off the 30-year-old.

Watson joined Watford in January 2015 after recovering from a broken leg at previous club Wigan Athletic.

His arrival may have seemed like the Hornets bringing in experienced cover for the likes of Almen Abdi and Daniel Tozser but Watson quickly secured a place in the starting XI and helped the club secure promotion to the Premier League.

In the summer Etienne Capoue and Valon Behrami joined Watford. They started the season as Quique Sanchez Flores’ first-choice midfield pairing with Watson making late cameo appearances from the substitutes’ bench.

However, Behrami’s sending off and subsequent three-match ban gave Watson a chance in the side. And he hasn’t looked back.

He has started Watford’s last 21 matches and his leadership skills are often praised by Flores.

So is Waston concerned he’ll lose his place in the side following Suarez’s arrival? Not a chance.

“Everyone in football knows Mario Suarez,” Watson said. “He is a Spanish international and has won La Liga with Atletico Madrid.

“He is a top player and his signing can only be good for the club. If we are attracting the likes of Mario Suarez it shows we are doing something right.

“It was important that in this window, and in the summer, the owner put the money in and we’ve signed some quality.

“Every window we need to improve the squad and that is what the owner and the staff are doing.

“It keeps everyone on their toes and there is competition all over the pitch. At this moment Watford Football Club is in a good place.”

Watson and his Watford teammates will travel to Tottenham Hotspur tomorrow looking to continue their improved Premier League form.

After a tricky January the Hornets have taken four points from their last two games and appear back on track.

The match will see Heurelho Gomes and Etienne Capoue return to their former club. Both endured difficult spells at Spurs but have flourished at Watford.

Waston says neither player has anything to prove given their form for the Hornets this term.

He said: “Gomey is a fantastic goalkeeper and has been for a number of years.

“People always associate Gomes with making mistakes but I’ve been here a year and in that time he’s only made one mistake.

“He is a great character and pulls off great saves.

“He is a pleasure to play with. He is a professional and will go about his business.

“He hasn’t got anything to prove and that will be the same as Caps (Capoue). They’re playing in a Watford team that is doing really well.”

Waston added: “The game is going to be tough. When they came here to Vicarage Road earlier in the season we gave them a very good game.

“That day unfortunately we went down to ten men and were undone in the last minute by a goal that shouldn’t have counted.

“So we owe them one. Hopefully we can go there and get a good result.”