If there was ever a time for Odion Ighalo to confirm he is the real deal then it was most definitely against Brentford at Griffin Park last night.

In the midst of a classic, fiery local derby, the Nigerian showed two touches of Premier League class to clinically dispatch a spirited Bees side.

Ighalo has scored and won us points in the last two matches to keep us in sight of the Championship’s automatic promotion places.

The in-form forward has now netted 11 goals in his last seven games and continues to be our driving force since the turn of the year.

However, it is now time for other members of the squad to really step up and take some responsibility – like Ighalo has done recently.

In his post-match interview last night, Slavisa Jokanovic said his players had played ‘without intelligence’ for large periods of last night’s game.

After watching the Hornets – aided by the sending off of Jake Bidwell – fluff their lines for two thirds of the contest, I couldn’t agree more.

Let’s make no mistake, in spite of being reduced to ten men, Brentford played admirably and were full value for their lead.

They remained well organised, hassled us in possession and regularly utilised the pace and strength of Andre Gray on the break.

And we should know how dangerous ten men can be. After all, we’ve won three out of five games this season in the same position.

But despite dominating possession for long periods and creating several clear cut chances, there was a lingering feeling that it wasn’t going to be our night.

In fairness, if it were not for Ighalo’s late winner, we may still have debating if that was one of the most embarrassing results of the season.

While statistically it looked like we had full control of the game, in reality we looked increasingly unconvincing.

Other than Ighalo, Juan Carlos Paredes and Craig Cathcart, I can think of any other Watford players that covered themselves in glory last night.

But, luckily after a hectic period, we were able to capitalise on Brentford’s tiring legs, remain patient and probe Brentford until we found the late winner.

What is becoming evident as the season progresses though is the only factor holding us back from achieving our ultimate goal of automatic promotion is ourselves.

If it were not for our flirtation with continuously shooting ourselves in the foot, I genuinely believe we would be battling to win the league.

I have no doubt that we have the ability and depth to match any team at this level. So is there a psychological edge that our squad – compared to others in and around us – possibly lacks?

Regardless, it’s coming to that stage of the season where our senior players must join Ighalo and stand up and be counted.