Tom Cleverley spoke to the media after the Hornets earned a win in his first game as permanent Head Coach with a 1-0 victory over Sunderland at Vicarage Road.
Ryan Andrews' second-half strike was the game's only goal as the Golden Boys recorded their first home league win in almost five months.
Read what Cleverley had to say below...
On celebrating his appointment with an elusive home win:
I would have taken that before the game - a real bang-average performance, but a 1-0 win. I will always be honest with the media and the players, it’s possibly our poorest performance since I’ve been in charge, and football has got a funny way of working out.
We played excellent second half against West Brom, excellent second half against Southampton, and only came away with one point, so maybe we have got a little bit of payback here today.
On the reasons behind the poor performance:
I think we started the game well in the first 20 minutes, and then gave away a few cheap fouls that spoiled the rhythm. Then we gave away a couple of chances, and Sunderland had a real foothold in the game. I thought we made too many technical mistakes today and were sloppy in possession, especially in the top third of the pitch.
On other days we might not be as good at the back, and our front three will create magic to get us out, but the result today was the other way round. Our defence was very good, and we were sloppy in possession.
Maybe it is just my high demands of us as a team. I see on a daily basis how technically good we are, playing in small spaces, combining around the box, and today we just couldn’t get it going, we would have two passes, but then with the third it would break down, or someone would try a flick.
In this league you need consistency and we didn’t have any of that in possession today, so we will work at it, and I won’t stop demanding until we have the complete performance.
Sunderland did a really good job at breaking the tempo. They slowed the game down well, knocking us out of our rhythm, a bit like Preston did, and we struggled to deal with that, and they took control of the game for large parts.
When you are desperate to put three or four passes together to get your rhythm out of the game, you fall down too many times. I'm a little bit disappointed with that, because I know technically these players are better than they showed today.
On seeing the game out:
Pleasing after we couldn’t manage it against Leeds and West Brom. Sunderland caused us a lot of problems second half, tactically, and technically they are a very, very good side. Good, quick combinations in and around our box, and we showed a bit of grit to see it out, and make it five clean sheets out of eight.
On the goal:
It was a nice move, [Ismaël] Koné and [Vakoun] Bayo combining. I thought Koné was excellent today, and Ryan Andrews finished it off really, really well. One Academy product starting [Jack Grieves], replaced by another who scored the winning goal. I have been really pleased with Ryan’s reaction to starting on the bench today.
On Jack Grieves:
He has been training fantastically well since I’ve been in. He’s training with a real intensity, and I just felt like we could go with two more attacking wing-backs, a bit more attacking balance that we showed so well in the last 20 minutes of last week, so we went with Grieves to start.
We just couldn’t get any rhythm, he looked like someone who needed to learn the position a little bit, but he was completely at the level. It’s been a real good experience for him, then Ryan came on and responded well to being left out today, and showed a lot of character to perform like he did.
On Ryan Andrews:
The responsibility is his, but I feel massively responsible to be a part of his development. He knows how demanding I am of him, and I continue to be so. The reason I got into coaching is to help young players, and I am excited to work with him.
On Wesley Hoedt:
He has been fantastic, not only on the playing field, but on the training pitch for us as well. A massive leader amongst the squad, he is someone who has huge experience and he has been a big part of why our defensive record has been so good since we’ve come.
The [Player of the Season award] is thoroughly deserved, take your pick from goal of the season, from Yáser’s wonder strikes plus Wes’s, but I don’t think anyone can have any complaints from Wes winning Player of the Season.
On making Vicarage Road a fortress:
It is right up there, top of the list of priorities. I know personally, 19 out of 23 when we got promoted last time, your home form is key to this league. You try and pick up as many points on the road as you can, but, ultimately, it is your defensive record, and your home form, that will see you through this league.
I feel like we have reconnected with the fans through spirited performances, desire and heart, so we are starting to form those connections with our supporters again, and now it is up to all of us to make this a fortress again.
The way we want to play, being a team on the front foot and in control of the game in possession, but with possession with a purpose, is easier to implement at home because you naturally get on the front foot.
It should be a match made in heaven for our results to improve at home next season, but consistency is the key, and that’s what I’m not too pleased about today, we didn’t show much consistency throughout the game.
On the importance of getting the home win out of the way this season:
If we went into the off-season, then pre-season, then at the first game in August you are looking at nine months since our last win at home, and that doesn’t sound great, for a club of our size in this league.
We have managed to clear that one off today, so we are really, really pleased that we’ve managed to send our supporters away for the summer with a little bit of something to celebrate.
