What a difference a couple of months make.

When Watford last faced Southampton back at Vicarage Road in March, we were a mess. We looked a team without a gameplan or any sort of defensive organisation.

The Golden Boys looked like conceding at every opportunity and were also far too predictable going forward, something which most of us said on multiple occasions last season.

Fast forward to Saturday and it’s like watching a completely different prospect. Not only did we win 2-0, but it was a perfect away performance from the Hornets, who seem to be improving on a weekly basis under Marco Silva.

If you weren’t lucky enough to be at the St Mary’s Stadium on Saturday, then I have to say, the highlights on Match of the Day didn’t do Watford’s performance justice. The Hornets were on top right from the first whistle and there was only one team which looked like winning the game.

While we didn’t create many chances in the first half, we dominated possession and made things very difficult for Southampton.

Abdoulaye Doucoure and Nathaniel Chalobah were controlling the game and the Saints couldn’t get near them. Once Doucoure had put us ahead with a superb strike in the 38th minute, there was no looking back.

While we are on the subject of Doucoure, the song doesn’t lie either. He really does never give the ball away.

Anyway, back to the football. We could have scored more, with Andre Carrillo firing just wide in the dying minutes following a mazy run down the right, while Richarlison was almost played through one-on-one as well.

Some of the football we played was delightful to watch, too. It could not be more different to last season.

Instead of playing long aimless balls up field, as we saw time and time again last campaign, we were patient in possession, playing some lovely football on the floor. The "ole"s were in full swing in the away end in the last few minutes.

On our day, it feels like we can cause any teams problems with our patient build-up, pace and power in the attacking thirds.

It also says a lot that Southampton had one shot on target all game, which came in the 92nd minute, and even that was a straightforward save for Heurelho Gomes.

Let’s not forget this was a very good Southampton team, which finished in eighth place last season and have also qualified for the Europa League in previous campaigns.

But we made them look incredibly average. Christian Kabasele and Younes Kaboul were immense at the back, meaning that the tricky Manolo Gabbiadini didn’t have a sniff all game. They were first to literally everything, making some vital interceptions and challenges too.

Fair play to Adrian Mariappa as well, who came on as a second half substitute. I was worried when I saw Kaboul hobbling off and Mariappa coming on, given his performance against Bristol City in the cup a couple of weeks ago, but he slotted in seamlessly and helped us secure our third clean sheet in four Premier League games.

Tom Cleverley worked his socks off once again and is becoming practically undroppable for Watford at the moment. He has made that attacking midfield position his own, linking up with the likes of Andre Gray and Richarlison very well, and his pressing sets the tone for the rest of the team to follow.

Richarlison and Carrillo caused problems out wide with their pace and trickery, while Nathaniel Chalobah was once again impressive in midfield.

His partnership with Doucoure just gets better every week and we simply must enjoy these two players while we have them, because it’s inevitable that they will both play for big clubs in the future. You could probably throw Richarlison into that equation as well.

All in all, Saturday was a thoroughly enjoyable day, with the traveling Watford fans rewarded with an impressive display by the Golden Boys.

Silva has transformed this Watford side and given us a new lease of life. It’s enjoyable to go and watch the Hornets play again. The enjoyment of going to a match has returned, something which was missing for me towards the end of last season.

It also feels like the fans, players and staff are together once again and that unity is something which will be key throughout the season.

If the Hornets can replicate Saturday’s performance regularly during ths campaign, then it is going to be a very exciting one for everyone associated with the club.

Bradley Hayden is the founder and sole writer of @WatfordFCBlog