Cleverley: “Everyone Knows What The Club Means To Me”

Tom Cleverley wants to ‘grab the opportunity with both hands’ after being appointed Watford’s permanent Head Coach following a spell in interim charge of the club.

The former Hornets captain steps into the role having impressed during his seven-game temporary stint, with his side losing just once despite playing five of the top seven in the Sky Bet Championship.

Speaking for the first time after signing the permanent deal, Cleverley said: “It is a very proud moment for me. I think everyone knows what the club means to me and how much it holds a place in my heart, and now I am in real control of the fortune and the future of the football club.

“I feel very fortunate to be in that position, and I feel a deep sense of responsibility that I am going to embrace and work as hard as I possibly can to fulfil what we want to do as a club moving forward.”

Cleverley enjoyed two spells with the Golden Boys during his playing career, first aged 19 on loan from Manchester United for the 2009/10 season. These were separated by seven years, a Premier League title, and 13 caps for England.

His second stint spanned over seven different seasons, but an injury sustained during the 2022/23 campaign forced retirement last summer.

This led to a role as Watford Under-18s Lead Coach, his first management position, ahead of the current campaign, laying the foundations that would eventually see him assume full charge of the first team.

Cleverley attributes this short turnaround from playing to managing to why he felt so prepared stepping into this job, saying: “I think it helps that I know the players, and it helped that I am so fresh out of the game as a player.”

However, stepping into this role hasn’t stopped his desire to continue learning and evolving.

“I am very current with what players are feeling, and how the games are working, but to deliver that to the players you have to adapt,” he said.

“There is a little bit of trial and error, and I think that we are improving all the time.

“I have been pleased with the performances, and I am one of those guys who will not think I know it all at any stage of my career, I will continue to try and develop. It’s been a great learning curve over the last seven weeks.”

It is evident that complacency is not something Cleverley deals in, with the new Head Coach aware of the hard yards required to thrive in this environment.

“I’m not taking anything for granted,” he asserted. “I understand that I have got a good connection with our fans that goes back a long way, but I do not take anything for granted.

“I didn’t take my playing career for granted, and I don’t take my relationship with the club for granted. I don’t think I am just going to walk into this job and succeed.

“It is going to take a lot of hard work, a lot of learning, consistency – that is the key to this league – and then I am confident we can do the job of progressing and really challenging at the right end of the table.”

A playing career spanning 15 seasons and 379 domestic appearances meant Cleverley has an impressive pool to choose from with regards to coaching influences, and although he will take parts from each, he also has faith in his own ideas.

“I think I can take little bits out of a lot of people that have influenced me,” he said.

“Warren Joyce and Paul McGuinness, my Manchester United youth team coaches; Sir Alex [Ferguson] from a man management perspective; Marco Silva was excellent tactically and the way he delivered messages; Rob Edwards from a psychological and human perspective.

“A lot have been in contact with me, and I’ll take little bits out of each one of them, and then at the same time always be true to myself.

“I can’t pull the wool over the players’ eyes, they all know who I am as a person, and I’m not going to change overnight.”

Having experienced first-hand from Sir Alex how important man management can be, it comes as no surprise that Cleverley holds this part of the job in high regard.

“To get the very best out of every player you are given to work with, I am passionate about that,” he said. “I understand that is a huge part of the job, so I’ll be doing everything I can to improve each individual, as well as winning three points in the process.”

Although results on the pitch have not been exactly how he had hoped, Cleverley is pleased with the performances his players have been putting in.

He believes their desire has helped rebuild the relationship with the fans, as well as offering a useful starting point to build from next season.

“We’ve got eight points out of seven games so on paper it doesn’t look like scintillating form, but we have gained a real solidity, and we have competed with the best teams in the league,” he said.

“Most importantly, we’ve reconnected with our fanbase. They can see a group of players that are fighting for the shirt, defending the badge, defending the goal, and leaving it all on the line.

"When we return in pre-season, when we have all got fresh motivations, when everyone starts on zero, then I think we have got an exciting foundation to work from.”

Read the full interview in Saturday's matchday programme v Sunderland.