Having lost momentum in the game against Leeds when he made changes up front, Tom Cleverley did things differently at West Brom on Monday.

However, while they may have looked like more aggressive changes, the interim head coach said they were made with defending also in mind but without losing any attacking impetus.

“Every team likes to defend from the front now, so although they can be seen as attacking substitutions you’re actually helping the whole team,” he explained.

“When you are defending as a unit, just bringing on fresh legs helps that whole unit.

“We know Dennis needs managing through this groin issue he’s got, and I thought both Bayo and Kone tired a little bit.

“I felt like I had to freshen things up at the top end of the pitch.”

Perhaps the turning point in the whole afternoon was how quickly the score went from 2-0 to 2-1.

More clear water after the Hornets’ second goal, and it would have been increasingly unlikely West Brom would have worked their way back into the contest.

“We gave them that little bit of belief by conceding so soon after going 2-0 up,” Cleverley admitted.

“I felt fairly comfortable at 2-0. I thought we were dominating possession, dominating the ball, still creating chances.

“I’ll look back at both goals because when you concede a 2-0 lead there will always be things you could have done better.

“When you’re against a team that is playing at home and they’ve got belief in them and the momentum of getting a goal back, then that can be quite hard to stop.

“That’s why we made the substitutions at different intervals, we were trying to take the sting out of the game.

“I thought we did a fairly good job of it until they found that one wonder-strike at the end.”