Three years in the Championship have taught Almen Abdi teams with nothing to play for can perform without the pressure which will be on Watford in their final three fixtures.

The Hornets’ 3-1 win at Nottingham Forest on Wednesday evening kept Slavisa Jokanovic’s side in the automatic promotion race and returned the Golden Boys to third place in the Championship standings, outside of the top two places by a single goal’s difference only.

Standing between Watford and a much-coveted place in the top flight are Birmingham City, Brighton & Hove Albion and Sheffield Wednesday. Three teams who, with relegation fears a distant memory and the play-off tussle out of their reach, have nothing more than professional pride to play for.

However, as one of the first influx of Pozzo-owned players to move to WD18, Abdi knows only too well sides who are not burdened by the pressure of expectation can play without fear.

It was the same freedom with which 13th-placed Leeds United played on the final day of the 2012/13 season as they beat the Hornets 2-1. Hull City claimed the final automatic promotion berth and the Golden Boys had to settle for another two years in English football’s second tier.

Asked after Watford’s victory at the City Ground whether facing opponents who are not embroiled in a battle at either end of the table would aid the Hornets, Abdi replied: “We already knew before the game that sometimes if you do not have anything to play for you are relaxed, over-confident and you can play your game.

“We have seen the results of yesterday (Tuesday), everybody [in the promotion chase] won, so it was a must-win game. Maybe that is why we showed some nerves.

“Now the next games, Birmingham, Brighton and Sheffield Wednesday, they do not have anything to play for.

“But in the Championship there are no easy games – even if you play the last-placed team at home – so you have to concentrate more than in some periods of today’s game.”

The battle for automatic promotion and the £120 million prize pot of Premier League football is as intense as it has been for many a year. A meagre two points separate leaders Bournemouth and fourth-placed Middlesbrough, who will go top if they win at second-placed Norwich City this evening (Friday).

At the City Ground the Swiss metronome made his first start since scoring and suffering a hamstring injury in the win against Reading on March 14 and marked his return with the decisive third goal late on.

But the Hornets were far from comfortable on the banks of the River Trent, even though Dougie Freedman’s side were reduced to ten men when Kelvin Wilson was dismissed on the hour.

“We were leading 2-0 after the red card and I don’t know what happened after, we just thought the game was over, we lost control of the game and we were too sloppy,” admitted Abdi. “They scored a first goal and almost scored a second. We could have done better but in the end we scored a third goal and it was a deserved win.”

He continued: “It was strange. We were very happy [in the dressing room afterwards] but we also spoke about why we lost control of the game, although these kind of things happen. (Michail) Antonio almost scored a second goal so it was like a mix between ‘phew’ and being happy with the three points.”

Abdi believes the pressure of promotion played a part in the Golden Boys falling apart after the sending off but does not expect it to be a problem in the final three matches.

He added: “We are an experienced team with many experienced players and we can handle this pressure.”