Even the harshest critics of Dan Bachmann would surely have found it very difficult to pick fault in his performance against Hull on Saturday.

As well as saving an early penalty, the keeper made a number of excellent stops, especially in the second half when Watford were pushing further forward and leaving gaps.

As a former teammate of the Austrian international, interim head coach Tom Cleverley said he knows exactly what Bachmann brings to the team.

“His ability has never been a question for me,” Cleverley stated.

“He’s a top goalkeeper at this level and he’s proven it at this level. He’s won promotion at this level.

“People are quick to jump on what parts of the game he’s maybe not as strong at, but when it comes to shot-stopping you’ll not find a better keeper in this division.”

After Ben Hamer saved one in the reverse fixture earlier in the season, Bachmann became the second Watford keeper to deny Hull from the penalty spot when he kept out Ozan Tufan’s early effort.

“It was a fantastic penalty save,” said Cleverley.

“I don’t know how much homework has gone into that or how much he’s dived into the archives of penalties.

“But it was a fantastic save, especially to go and get hold of it.

“Then there was a very brave save in the second half, and then a third one with the technical ability to keep hold of the ball.

“He showed his real worth today. I knew it from playing with him for all those years, not only on the pitch but in the dressing room.

“I know he’s come under a bit of unfair criticism but we have full belief in him and know how important he is to this squad.

“We know Ben Hamer’s qualities, and Dan will probably be the first to say that with his feet Ben is probably the better of the two.

“But as an all-round goalkeeper I have massive belief in Dan. We’re lucky to have him at this level and I’m lucky to have him in the dressing room.”

The Hornets were without both Tom Dele-Bashiru and Giorgi Chakvetadze on Saturday.

“Tom was a technical decision. Giorgi picked up a small issue while Tom not being involved was a technical decision,” said Cleverley.

When he was told that Chakvetadze’s own Facebook page had described it as “discomfort in the area of the adult”, a laughing Cleverley added: “I’ve not heard it called that before, but it’s spot on – it’s a groin issue.

“I’m hoping it’s minor and we’ll keep assessing it over the next few days.

“Hopefully we can get him back for some game time before the end of the season and then he goes to the Euros in the summer.”