Tom Cleverley has claimed Watford's equalising goal against Stoke City was his and not an Angus Gunn own goal.

The captain's shot was pushed onto the bar by Gunn before the goalkeeper was bundled over the line by Joao Pedro in what was a moment of controversy in the Hornets' 3-2 win, with the goal awarded by goal line technology.

However, Cleverley said he is not too bothered if the goal is taken away from him and that the three points are much more important.

“I hit it great and I'm surprised he [Angus Gunn] got a hand to it,“ Cleverley told the club website. “I was close enough to the ref to see 'Goal' on his watch, so it's my goal and I'm having it. I've not seen it back so I'm not too sure what's happened with the tech, but if the replay shows it's not mine, and that it's been bundled in, it's irrelevant. We got the win.”

The victory was much-needed after three games without a win and a dismal 1-0 defeat at Barnsley at the weekend.

Watford Observer:

Cleverley said strong words were had in the build up to the Stoke match with the club keen to iron out their mistakes and get the correct reaction.

“Trust me, there were some strong words said between ourselves this week,” said the midfielder. “That's why it was important to get that win and now we need to follow it up on Saturday. We know [the last two results and performances] were not good enough for this football club and this group of players. We reacted in the right way.”

Watford were also pleased with their goals tally as they scored more than once for only the second time in a Championship game this season.

Watford Observer:

Cleverley thinks it is a sign that they are starting to improve, but still thinks there is a lot of work to be done.

“It's been on our conscience that we've not scored enough goals, but I think tonight, after the first five minutes, we were a constant threat,“ he said. “We had the Sarr chance in the first half and we entered the box a lot of times. We answered a lot of questions there and it's only a matter of time before we put in the complete performance, shutting teams out and threatening at the other end. There is lots to improve and work to do."