In the week of the Cheltenham Festival, Watford’s 1-0 victory over Swansea was like watching a horse take a lead, stay in front but never feel comfortable they would actually win the race until they’d actually crossed the line.
As they did against Millwall at the weekend, the Hornets got on top in the first half but then fell away after the break.
The Swans failed to do what the Lions managed to, but Tom Cleverley admitted after the game that his side cannot carry on just about winning matches.
“I don’t think it’s sustainable how we’re managing the games,” he conceded.
“The application from pretty much everyone is to the maximum of what it needs to be, and I just think we can manage the game better.
“We can’t keep putting these games to chance.
“The first-half performance was fantastic, and in the second half we looked like a team that was tired and making poor decisions.
“We have to address this as soon as possible because the first-half performances are too good to go home unrewarded.”
When the teams were announced an hour before kick-off, Watford’s starting XI did not contain a recognised striker.
Vakoun Bayo became a father earlier in the day and so started on the bench, which is where Rocco Vata also found himself.
It meant an more advanced role for Edo Kayembe, something Cleverley was unperturbed about.
“Edo has scored eight goals this season so he is someone who knows where the goal is,” said the head coach.
“Now there were things I saw in the game where he looked unnatural in that position, some of his timing of his runs and then when we were in wide areas when he was arriving in the box.
“But then there were other areas where he looked really natural.
“He did a more than valiant job in that role today and he’s an absolute warrior for us.”
