The pundits were largely writing Watford off before the season started, but that may change with them sitting sixth in the Championship table.

With so many teams fancied more before a ball was kicked, the Hornets were able to slip under the radar early on, but their league position may mean the national media take a closer look in weeks to come.

“I take it week by week, and I know that’s a bit of a boring answer but it’s my job to keep improving the group of players and keep winning matches,” said Tom Cleverley.

“If that gets extra publicity, then so be it.

“We’ve not all of a sudden turned into an amazing team because we’ve beaten Middlesbrough, and we weren’t an absolutely shocking team because we lost at Preston in the week.

“We continue to be on an upward curve, we’ll continue to work hard and we’ll prepare for our next game at Luton.”

That trip to Kenilworth Road on October 19 will be only the second time Watford have played there with a crowd inside the stadium since 2006.

“It’s my first time against Luton as coach and the first time I’ve come up against Rob Edwards,” said Cleverley.

“I’m looking forward to it.

“From being here eight years I know all about the rivalry. It’s a fierce one and there’s hatred.

“It’ll be an emotional day for everyone involved, but it’s all about the result.

“We’ll have a couple of days off and enjoy this win over Middlesbrough, which I think is a significant win.

“And we lose seven players on international duty, so you can’t prepare tactically too much because you might be without four or five starters.

“But you can still work hard on the basic principals we want to see at Kenilworth Road.”

One thing not to be concerned about is the fitness of Moussa Sissoko and Ken Sema, both of whom came off before the end of the win over Middlesbrough.

“Moussa is my age, and there’s no way I could play three 90 minutes in a week!” Cleverley laughed.

“It was always the plan to manage Moussa through today, and I thought he was really good and showed great leadership.

“Week in, week out, he’s excellent.

“Sema was just a bit of cramp at the end of a game where I thought he was fantastic.

“Doak is a really explosive player. I went to watch Middlesbrough at West Brom and I was really impressed by him.

“I thought Ken, after the first couple of minutes, managed him excellently, and I was really pleased with Ken’s performance.”