When Tom Cleverley first arrived at Vicarage Road as a fresh-faced 20-year-old on loan from Manchester United in 2009, his captain was a 30-year-old midfielder with more than 200 appearances under his belt.
John Eustace had been anchoring the Hornets midfield since signing from Stoke City for £250,000 in January 2008.
More than 16 years later, the pair will reunite at Vicarage Road tomorrow when Eustace brings his Blackburn Rovers side to face Watford.
“He is a fantastic guy and was a great captain when I was here on loan,” said Cleverley of Eustace, who made 168 first-team appearances in five years.
“He guided me and other youngsters like Henry Lansbury through that season, taught us the dark arts of the game and is someone I massively respect.”
Cleverley wasn’t surprised that when Eustace hung us his boots, he moved into management.
“He was always an organiser and very level-headed, and could see everyone else’s side of the argument as a captain,” he said.
“He led the dressing room through common sense and good standards, and those characters don’t surprise me at all when they go into management.”
Rovers have the best home record in the Championship but have not won away from home in the league this season.
“I’ve obviously been doing some digging into our away form and although it doesn’t make me feel any better I think there are eight teams who haven’t won away from home,” said Cleverley.
“The home advantage is really rearing its head in the Championship this season, and for us now it’s all about improving away performances.
“We want to make Blackburn feel as uncomfortable as possible on Saturday, because we’re in a really good moment at home.”
Does the sequence of defeats on the road put added pressure on games at Vicarage Road?
“No, I’d like to think there is pressure on every game anyway. We want to win each game we play,” Cleverley answered.
“I’m more viewing home games as an opportunity rather than added pressure.
“I was pleased with the performance on Tuesday, it shows that we can perform and we can rise to the challenge.
“Now the next time we go away from home I’d be more bothered about the result, as we’ve shown we can perform.”
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