A settled centre-back pairing is something Javi Gracia could only dream of last season as injuries wreaked havoc with his defensive options.

The loss of Christian Kabasele was felt more acutely than most at the heart of the Watford backline as a near three month absence kept him away from the first team picture.

Such concerns, as with many of Watford’s other problems, have, so far at least, been a thing of the past in 2018/19.

Kabasele has continued the partnership with Craig Cathcart which promised so much at the tail end of last season this and Watford look better for it.

The Belgian’s pace at the back is an ideal foil to Cathcart and the duo offer a level of reliability not given by Watford’s other central defensive options.

In short, the team plays better with Cathcart and in particular Kabasele at the back and the latter accepts he is becoming a leader in the Watford set-up.

“I am now in the best years of my football,” the 27-year-old said. “I have more experience in the position, and experience at international level which has helped me develop leadership and calmness on the pitch.

“We have leaders in every part of the pitch now which is only a good thing.

“I need to keep doing what I am doing this season because we are two games in and at the moment we are nowhere.”

Of course any good relationship is built on more than the qualities of the individual and Cathcart deserves credit for the role he has played alongside Kabasele.

The 29-year-old, who has been selected for Northern Ireland’s latest squad, has come through his own injury problems and Kabasele says returning to the fold at a similar time has helped nurture their partnership.

“I think we understand each others game quite well and we came back to fitness at a similar time,” he said.

“We weren’t always available at the same time, but when we played together we did a good job.

“There is not only us in the team who are good defenders but maybe we compliment each other better.

“We have Seb [Prodl] and Miguel [Britos] who are also great defenders. Maybe if mine and Craig’s levels are not good enough others will come in and perform.”

Those levels showed no signs of dropping off as Watford claimed a 3-1 win over Burnley on Sunday to make it two wins from two in the Premier League.

The fine start has come as a surprise to many, with a host of pundits once again selecting Watford as the favourites to be relegated this season.

Kabasele believes the triumph at Turf Moor is a good platform to progress from and insists comments, both negative and positive, from outside the club will do little to influence the Watford squads’ focus.

“It was a very good win at Burnley and good to score three goals. Everybody knows it is a tough place to go,” he said. “We need to build on this because at the moment it is two games. We need to keep this attitude.

“We don’t think about what people think and what pundits say. The last three years we have been picked as a relegated team, but we do not think about this.

“We know the quality we have, and we work hard and show the right mentality. If we do that we can be safe by January or February.

“We need to keep going and let people say what they want to say.”