Slaven Bilic gave a fascinating after yesterday’s win over Wigan into how he wanted Samuel Kalu to affect the game when he brought him on in the 68th minute.

The Nigerian forward made a telling difference as he ran at the home defence and showed some excellent footwork to evade tackles.

Bilic also brought on Yaser Asprilla five minutes later, a pair of attacking changes that eventually played a significant part in Watford going home with three points rather than one.

“We wanted to win the game, that’s why we made the changes,” said Bilic.

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Wigan 0 Watford 1 - match report

“I told the guys in the dressing room after the game that it’s all about the squad, and today the players who came off the bench won the game.

“The substitutes raised our levels, and they raised our quality in the final third.”

And when Bilic replaced Ken Sema with Kalu, he went onto the pitch with a specific set of instructions.

“When I was sending Kalu on I said to him ‘Don’t cross the ball, because Wigan are good at defending crosses’.

“You have to give something to get something, and Wigan’s systems means they defend their box very well but they give you the flanks. They defend their box with numbers and they did it well today and probably practised it during the week.

“They are physical and good in the air in defence. So that is why I told Kalu not to cross the ball. Get inside the box with the ball, and that’s what he did.

“I wanted him in their box with the ball, and then decide what to do. Don’t cross it early.

“Then we pinned them in. We didn’t create a lot but it was noticeable that in the last 15 minutes it was more of us having the ball, and we pinned them back. We were getting second attacks, third attacks.

“When you do that, the opposition get a bit tired, you get a corner, you get a second ball in and you get a reward.”

The Watford head coach said that Kalu – who suffered a twisted ankle that isn’t thought to be too bad – adds another dimension to the way his side can play.

“He’s a player that has got more than something,” said Bilic.

“He wasn’t fit when we arrived, he still isn’t fully fit, but he’s got something special: a change of pace, a change of direction, good on the ball. His first touch and movement are good, he strikes a ball well.

“He’s a very useful player and we are expecting a lot from him.”

Having swept Luton aside last week, the victory at Wigan showed that Watford can win with style but also have the ability to win ugly.

“We have shown we can win games in different ways,” said Bilic.

“No matter who you play and how good you are, games are so long that there are times when what happens won’t be down to you.

“The other team will have times when they have the ball and you will have to defend, especially in this league.

“I told the guys before the game that it’s great to start the game with the memories from Luton, but don’t remember the goals: remember what you had to do in that game.

“Remember how we were superior to Luton in winning second balls, remember how we did this, and this, and this. And to be fair, in the first 15 minutes, we weren’t good at those things. But after 15 minutes we improved.”

It was clear that Bilic felt his side dug deep for the win, especially considering team changes were forced on him again due to injuries.

“What pleased me the most today was that we showed character.

“We showed that we have a strong squad. Despite the fact that today we were without Cathcart and Davis from the win over Luton, plus we already had three important players who have been out long term. And still we could get players off the bench who made the difference.

“It is not a cliché when I say it is all about the squad.”