The highs and lows of professional football are perhaps at their most acute when it comes to the position of goalkeeper as errors generally prove fatal.

Orestis Karnezis knows this as well as anyone after recovering from a nightmare debut against Everton to provide genuine competition to stalwart stopper Heurelho Gomes at Vicarage Road.

Indeed, the Greek international has made such an impression since Gomes suffered a back injury last month that he kept the fit-again Brazilian out of the side on Saturday.

It was fitting that the match came against Everton and Karnezis, who is on loan from Pozzo-owned Udinese, is keen on extending his stay in the Premier League beyond this season.

“I came on loan here at the last moment from Udinese and I would like to stay and continue with Watford,” Karnezis explained.

“In football you never know and I am happy here and also happy I am playing in the games and want to continue doing so.

“Football has taught me not to make plans and don’t make dreams, but of course dreaming is a good thing.

“You must keep calm and live in the present and do your best. In the future we will see what will happen.”

While it is too soon to install Karnezis as the long-term heir to Gomes, his inclusion ahead of the 37-year-old is a significant one.

It is the first time Gomes has been fit and not been the Watford stopper for a Premier League game, leading some to suggest Karnezis has a chance to establish himself as number one, The man himself is focused on the challenge of playing in England’s top tier and says Watford are well stocked in goal no matter who Javi Gracia opts to play.

“For every player the Premier League is a big challenge and I am very happy that I am here to play in the last matches,” he said.

“We (Karnezis and Gomes) have a very good relationship, also with Daniel [Bachman] and we are very good team.

“The most important thing is that we are together and the most important for the team is that Watford will not have a problem in goal for a couple of years.”

Karnezis’ maiden outing in the Watford goal saw the Hornets throw away a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 at Goodison Park and he was culpable for the first Toffees goal.

There was further despair for the 32-year-old soon after as Greece failed to make it to the World Cup this summer after Croatia beat them in the play-offs.

The former Granada man admits the period was a testing one to endure, but says he maintained a level-headed approach which allowed him to recover.

“It was one of the worst weeks. Football is not always with reward but you must work hard,” he said.

“You cannot always be upset and cannot always be the hero. The important thing is to keep the balance in yourself and keep the faith in your ability.”

It is fair to say Karnezis enjoyed a quieter afternoon on his second viewing of Everton as the visitors struggled to create and Troy Deeney’s goal sealed a 1-0 win.

The victory takes Watford up to 10th in the table and six points clear of the relegation zone with 10 games to play.

Karnezis says the emotions from his visit to Merseyside and those experienced yesterday could not be in starker contrast.

“It is the way of winning and losing. If you lose one game, the next few days you can’t sleep well and you are thinking all the time about what you could have done better,” he said.

“Today they didn’t have too many chances because the two teams were trying not concede. In the end we got the three points and they were very, very important.

“I try to do my best and I am very happy that I was able to go out with a clean sheet.”