Torture. That was how Tom Cleverley described having to watch Friday’s game at Plymouth from the stands.

The Watford head coach was serving a one-match touchline ban picked up due to accumulated bookings, and Sky Sports regularly cut to a shot of him sat in the stands high up behind the dug-outs.

“That was torture, and that’s not to say I didn’t have full belief in what Damon and Robbo could do, and the impact they could have on the team,” he admitted.

“I like to be in amongst it and I like to try and smell the momentum of a game from pitch level.

“It wasn’t my most enjoyable experience watching from the stands but I’ll learn from it.

“I felt it was a strong performance, we had a lot of control, we were the superior team, and they were all things that were confirmed when I watched the game back.

“It might give you 10% more of the tactical picture but even then, it’s really difficult to deliver you message to players in front of 10,000 or 20,000 people wherever you are.

“I much prefer being at pitch level.”

Was the long, late-night journey back from Devon sufficient for the Hornets boss to get over Plymouth’s last-gasp equaliser?

“No but I feel like the focus switching to Bristol City helps, and games coming thick and fast always helps with situations like that,” he replied.

“Every setback we’ve had this season and every time we’ve come away from a game hurting, we’ve responded well.

“As a coach, that mental resilience that we can show gives me a lot of confidence.”

It’s another busy week in the Championship, and one where clubs will likely choose to utilise their squads.

“I think we’re in a period of five or six weeks where we will have to go deep into the squad really,” said the Watford boss.

“Every time I’ve said that so far it’s turned out to be the case, and this will be a week where most probably you’ll use 15 or 16 players as different starters, and 18 or 19 in total.”