Cleverley On Fulham: "An Audition For Players"

Tom Cleverley believes the Hornets’ FA Cup third-round tie away at Premier League side Fulham is a chance for the players on the periphery of the squad to prove their worth.

The Golden Boys make the short trip to West London tomorrow (Thursday January 9) for a 7.45pm kick-off, with the team back in action for the first time following a demanding festive schedule.

The Head Coach will therefore be using the cup match to get a good look at some of his squad players, telling watfordfc.com: “They will certainly get opportunities.

“They will definitely see the pitch because we want to, without piling too much pressure on them, see if their pathway is with us for the second half of the season, or if they should go out on loan and develop that way.

“So tomorrow night is a little bit of an audition for players like that, and it will be good for our supporters to see them.

“[Pierre] Dwomoh, [Mamadou] Doumbia, [Antonio] Tikvić - I expect all of them to see the pitch at some point tomorrow.

“There will be enough experience in there tomorrow to know what kind of game plan we are going for. We know we are going to have to manage the game in periods, going to a Premier League team who are on an unbeaten run.

“So we will have enough experience to guide those guys through it who are a little less experienced.”

Cleverley was open about the fact there will be changes for this third-round clash, explaining there is little other option given the scheduling of matches around the Christmas and New Year period. 

“We are coming out of a period of five games in 12 or 13 days,” he continued. “You have to give some players rest. We simply haven’t got the luxury of going out and replacing a really important player, so some have to be wrapped up in cotton wool.

“If we had been playing Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, Thursday, Tuesday, I think on Thursday you can go strong, but we’ve not. We’ve been playing Sunday, Wednesday, Saturday.

“A lot of our players also play every game for their countries, so it is really difficult for me to go and churn them out again.

“You will probably see them on the bench and ready to use [if needed], a bit like we did at Man City, but I have to be smart.”

However, the former Watford captain views this through a positive lens, as it offers a chance for him to further aid the development of these players.

“I do enjoy that part of the job [developing players],” he admitted. “It is the part where you feel really rewarded when you see someone progressing like [Kwadwo] Baah, and Rocco [Vata] is coming into the team now.

“Even older players developing, I get a real buzz out of that as well.

“Hopefully they give the best version of themselves.”

Aware his side will face a tough test travelling to a Fulham side who currently sit ninth in the top-flight and are unbeaten in eight matches, Cleverley knows all the Hornets can do is concentrate on what they can control.

“It is one of those where you have to really focus on yourself,” the Head Coach admitted. “Especially when they are a team who have been flickering between three and four at the back successfully.

“They probably are going to make nine or 10 changes also, so it is a game where you have really got to focus on yourself.

“I think it is a good game for us. We need to start showing defensive resilience, and there will be no better test than tomorrow.

“I felt we did it in the Man City fixture, and we are going to have to do it again tomorrow.”

Finally, more than 4,000 Watford fans are making the trip to Craven Cottage, with Cleverley full of praise for the efforts of the travelling faithful.

On being backed by a packed out away end, he said: “That will be a part of my team talk, for sure.

“I don’t think we will have a better away following all season unless we get to where we want to be, but that is a fantastic away following.”