Just as he had after the wins over Millwall and MK Dons, on Saturday evening Tom Cleverley was very keen to ensure players, staff and fans kept their feet on the ground and retained sight of the bigger picture.

Although the 3-0 win over Stoke gave Watford three consecutive victories for the first time since November 2022, in terms of the season as a whole what has passed so far is only a tiny percentage.

“It’s only two league games out of 46,” Cleverley pointed out.

“That’s all it is, and it’s our time to double down and maintain high standards, and not take this moment for granted.

“But this week has been a reward for the hard work the lads have put in.

“We didn’t have the ideal pre-season results wise but I’m glad that the lads still believed in the process and still believed in all the principles we’re trying to coach.

“That belief has been rewarded with three wins out of three in the week.”

With no midweek game, there was the opportunity to reflect on a good start but that would be only brief before preparations started for the visit of Derby to Vicarage Road on Saturday.

“We’re not in celebration mode now,” said Cleverley.

“It’s ok to feel a sense of reward but we go straight back to work. It’s a good start but we have to keep a lid on it.

“Now we have a bit of time to rest, recuperate and double down on the standards, because they are what separates winning teams from just good teams.”

The head coach has been clear that while he won’t be dragged down unduly by any setbacks, he will also not get carried away by the highlights.

“After the defeat at Wycombe in pre-season there were a lot of doubts going around, but we didn’t become a bad team because of one game,” he said.

“In the same way, you don’t become an amazing team in one game.

“It’s a process. We want to be an amazing team but that is a longer process, and three wins doesn’t automatically mean we are.

“What we are doing is not a surprise to me because I see the quality and I see the work each day.

“But what we have got is a process of how we want to play, and a really good team spirit that is shown by lads stepping in against MK Dons, and lads coming off the bench and making a difference.

“We are in a good moment which is all part of a process that we’re in to see the consistency where that second-half performance is our standard.”

One thing the win over Stoke did mean was a clean sheet and three points at Vicarage Road.

It was Watford’s fifth shut-out at home under Cleverley, and it has taken them just four days for them to win two games in WD18 – at the end of last season, it took 113 days from the FA Cup win over Chesterfield until the 1-0 victory over Sunderland.

“I think the key to a successful season is how strong you are defensively and how good your home form is,” he said.

“It was something we addressed and was included in the five targets that I’ve spoken about before – how we get those is the special part, and I’ll be keeping that in-house.

“But we’ve made a good start and we couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity to create momentum than with four home games back-to-back.

“Now it’s time to take advantage of the momentum we are creating at home.”