The need to have flair but also do what he described as the “dirty jobs” is the balance Slaven Bilic is trying to strike with his Watford team.

The Hornets’ attacking threat, via the likes of Joao Pedro, Ismaila Sarr and Keinan Davis, is something that countless opposition managers have pointed at when asked about Watford.

However, while Bilic is delighted to have such creative players within his squad, he is keen to ensure that the team don’t forget the need to ensure the basics are done equally well.

“It’s all about balance,” he said.

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“I like my teams to play good football and be exciting, and here we have the ingredients to do that.

“But I heard a pundit say during the World Cup that in modern football, it’s usually impossible to have one-sided games. The game lasts 90 minutes and if in those 90 minutes you are only good on the ball, then you are going to get into problems.

“What we are trying to do with this team is recognise that our forte is when we are in possession of the ball, but to convince the same players who are great on the ball that it’s just as important to defend as a team. Then you have good chemistry.

“That gives you a team that can go up. If you rely only on four defenders and say it’s their job to do the defending then you ain’t going to win games.

“I actually get more excited when players like Sarr, Pedro, Davis, go and do the dirty work. I expect them to be good on the ball. But what good teams are about is when the players, who are not really used to or even pleased to, do those dirty jobs.

“If you can get that from your team, then in this division you will be really good.

“We know that we have players who will create space and get the ball into good positions, and we know they will beat players. But that alone is not enough to win football games. Sometimes it might be, but in the long run it isn’t.”

The Watford boss was down to his last two fit midfielders at Huddersfield, and it would have been one had the club not signed free agent Leandro Bacuna during the week.

“We have a problem in the midfield department with quantity, and that is why we brought Leandro in. I had checked him out, not just directly by talking to him but I asked around my staff, and we came to the conclusion he could do a job today for us for about 60 minutes.

“We knew he would get through 45 minutes, and then with the half-time break you can do another 10 or 15 minutes. That was always in my mind that he would play maximum 60 minutes, but he was better at the start of the second half than he was in the first half, so that’s why we delayed it as long as we did.

“Tom (Dele-Bashiru) was impressive for the second game in a row. I’ll say this again: I didn’t like what I saw when he came back after his injury. I wasn’t convinced.

“But in the couple of weeks before the break, and especially in Spain and since we’ve got back, then I saw something.

“He got a chance against Hull because of injuries and I had no worries putting him into the team. He deserved it. He was excellent against Hull, and again today.

“He is a midfielder who wants to pass the ball forward, he works hard and he is good at gaining space with the ball.

“When he went on the drive for the first goal I was worried he was going a bit left. It’s easy from the bench but I saw Joao Pedro was to his right and part of me was wondering if he was drifting left so that deliberately to leave Joao more open. He dragged the defence away, that’s exactly what he did, and he picked the right pass.

“He is a quality player. He has got it. Do I like what I see from Tom? Yes, definitely.”

Bilic said he shared his positivity at the performance with his players, but asked them to look beyond the scoreline and consider what they did in order to achieve it.

“I like to praise the players because it helps their confidence, but the important thing is they understand what they did to earn the praise. What they did to play well.

“Working hard, playing with commitment and desire, and taking risks where it’s right. You want them to be protagonists, not just be on the pitch.”