Who would have thought that Mario Gaspar’s best performance for Watford so far would come as a central midfielder?

Certainly not the player himself, who admitted he had never played a full 90 minutes in that role before being a pivotal part of the Hornets 1-0 win at Norwich.

When Gaspar moved to Watford in the summer he wasn’t just heading to play his football outside of Spain for the first time, but also it was his first move away from Villareal.

The 32-year-old came through the youth ranks of the team known as the ‘Yellow Submarine’ and went on to play more than 400 senior games at Estadio de la Ceramica, one of only a handful of players to reach that figure.

That was achieved almost exclusively as a right-back, so while Watford fans spent the summer debating if Gaspar could play as a wing-back in what was then Rob Edwards’ preferred system, they never imagined he’d begin 2023 in a midfield pairing with Leandro Bacuna.

“It was difficult, especially because we went into the game after a string of bad results,” admitted the very genial Spaniard.

“But the team pulled together, we worked together and that’s why we left Carrow Road with three points.”

Having that extensive La Liga experience in the bank, plus three caps for your country and a Europa League winners medal all counts when you’re asked to go above and beyond.

“In that position, yes, experience helps but so does trust - having trust in your teammates, and them trusting you. I had to ask a few central midfielders some questions about tactics and movement.

“So I would say it was a combination of experience, my teammates and the daily work we do with the head coach on the training pitch.

“If we win a game then I like it, and in the situation we were in that day I especially liked it. We needed to be a team in a difficult moment and so it was important we came together as a team and met the challenge.”

Gaspar 'put himself around’ far more than he’d ever had to do for Watford, and some of his tackles in the middle of the pitch won him the club’s ‘Moment of the Week’ on social media.

“It was a different scenario for me, and it was also a game where we were trying to hold back and hit Norwich on the break. That meant a lot of time needing to win the ball back.

“I’m just pleased that everything went well and in the end we got a great result.”

Of course, Gaspar would probably never have been asked to play in midfield but for the club’s much-publicised injury list – something that even the very experienced Gaspar has not had to deal with before.

“I’ve seen periods where a team has had a few injuries, but something like this that we have now I haven’t seen anything like it in my career,” he said.

“There’s no doubt the Championship is very demanding and you have times when you are playing a game every three days.

“But it’s how the injuries are and that the players are out for weeks and weeks. I’ve never known that before.”

Watford Observer:

Does having as many players in the treatment room as the changing room cause any negativity?

“It doesn’t affect morale. All the players who are fit to play get together and fight, and it gives opportunities for players who have played less minutes.

“If we stick together, work hard and do that until the players start to come back, then we know we have the opportunity to reach our goal.”

Although at 32 Gaspar is one of the most experienced players in the Watford squad, he has become even more of a father figure lately. James Morris has stepped in to play at left-back and, at Reading, Gaspar was part of a squad that contained several players aged 18 and under.

“We were all young in the past and I know I was very grateful when people helped me earlier in my career. Now I try to do the same,” he explained.

“You mentioned James Morris: I thought he played a fantastic game at Norwich and also at Reading. You can see the manager has trust in him, he has taken his chance and he did very well.”

As with many of the overseas players who have had their first taste of Championship football, Gaspar pointed to the physical aspect of the division when asked to name the main difference from what he was used to in Spain.

“In England there is far more physicality. It’s a tougher league than in Spain, where the referee gives a free kick every time there is a foul.

“But now I’m also learning English, and that is helping me more on the pitch too.”

And Gaspar readily admits that the two games against the test that Millwall pose left his head spinning.

“In Spain you sometimes play against a club from up north and they play some direct football, but not with such pace and intensity - you don’t tend to play against teams like Millwall. I was feeling dizzy by the end of those games.”

Gaspar’s desire to learn English (and he’s already at the stage when he can chat, although we used a translator for the interview) and affable nature means he has settled into his new surroundings well.

“People told me before that London was an unbelievable place, and I must say I agree that it is an amazing city.

“Of course, the weather here is not so great. It starts getting dark very early! But the reality is that we’re here to train and play football, and that’s the same no matter where you are.

“I’ve never trained in snow before – in Villareal, it doesn’t snow. In Villareal there are about 30 days of rain a year – in England, you get nearly 30 days of rain a month!”

Back in May 2021, Gaspar was part of the Villareal side that beat Manchester United in the Stadion Miejski in Gdansk to lift the Europa League – the club’s first and only major honour.

“They are great memories that will stay with me forever. I have a poster from that night,” smiled Gaspar.

“Winning a major trophy with a club like Villareal, that had never won anything before, it was incredible – especially as I was part of that.”

The game ended 1-1, Edison Cavani scoring for United to cancel out Gerard Moreno’s opener for Villareal. There were no further goals in extra-time and so the final went to penalties, which is when the fun really started.

Each of the first 16 penalties were successfully converted, so when Gaspar stepped up to take Villareal’s ninth penalty, the score stood at 8-8.

Watford Observer: Gaspar prepares to take his Europa League Final penalty while Man Utd keeper David de Gea offers some 'advice'Gaspar prepares to take his Europa League Final penalty while Man Utd keeper David de Gea offers some 'advice' (Image: Action Images)

“When I had to take the penalty, I remember very well how nervous I was and the feeling when I was walking up to the ball.

“But when you win those nervous moments are put to the back of your mind.

“I had taken a penalty in pre-season, but never in a competitive match. I just remember putting the ball down and thinking I had to score, because it was a very weird night where nobody had missed a penalty in the shoot-out.

“We were heading towards 22 penalties and I said to myself ‘I can’t be the one that misses’.”

Gaspar scored, and so did all the other outfield players. Villareal keeper Geronimo Rulli also netted, and then saved David de Gea’s spot-kick to seal an 11-10 penalties victory for Gaspar and his teammates.

“When our lads were putting the ball on the spot, the rest of us were just thinking ‘score score score’. When the Man United players had the penalties, we were all thinking ‘miss miss miss’.

“Everybody kept scoring until De Gea had his penalty saved.”

When Gaspar moved to Vicarage Road in August, Kiko Femenia moved in the opposite direction and there was concern among Watford fans that it was not a life-for-like move.

The then head coach Edwards has shown a preference for wing backs, and while Kiko had looked very comfortable in that position, Gaspar was regarded as a more traditional full-back.

“They told me when I came that we were probably going to play with a line of five at the back,” said Gaspar.

“So I knew what the plan was but I still had to learn a few things. But I think as a professional footballer, being able to adapt and play in different positions on the pitch is vital.”

Watford Observer:

Ironically, during his time at Watford, Gaspar has seen midfielder Dan Gosling perform admirably at right back, before he then filled Gosling’s more familiar role in midfield.

“Dan is a fantastic professional. He proved that by doing very well when he played right back. It’s not his natural position but he did well,” said Gaspar, who spoke to Gosling about playing in midfield before the game at Norwich.

“It’s just a shame that he’s now out for such a long time with injury because we will miss him. He would have been a huge help for us and he would have helped us to reach our goal.”

That goal is obviously promotion back to the Premier League, ideally automatically. However, Watford are currently 11 points adrift of the top two in fourth place. Is automatic promotion still achievable?

“Of course it is possible, especially in a league where you often play more than one game in a week,” said Gaspar.

“It’s a difficult league, but we already saw in the first half of the season that it’s a league that has many games and it goes on for so long.

“With so many games still to be played in only a few months, we still can achieve promotion. We can catch the top two but the thing is this will not happen overnight.

“What we need to do is try to win three points, then go to the next game and do the same, and so on.

“If we trust in that process, then we have the chance to get there.”

Having played all his club career at Villareal before moving to Watford, it’s a fun but obvious question: will he only ever play for clubs that wear yellow?!

“I like the black and white centenary kit actually!” he laughed.

“It’s been like a coincidence, but the reality is I do like playing in yellow.”

Gaspar was a very forthcoming and chatty interviewee, who interjected with little bits of English whenever he could.

“I understand a lot but when I have to speak it’s a bit more difficult, especially in a situation where I have to speak to a lot of people in public,” he said.

But after 30-plus years of tapas, one thing Gaspar has not switched to is the English cuisine.

“Here at the training ground they look after our food so it’s very similar to what you have at other clubs, and that’s fine.

“Outside of that: fish and chips? No. Curry and Chinese? A little bit.”