Football League World
·9 November 2024
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·9 November 2024
After Watford's 1-0 win over Oxford on Friday night, tunnel footage has emerged of Tom Cleverley
A 1-0 win over Oxford United on Friday night helped Watford's promotion push gather more momentum, but footage emerged afterwards of boss Tom Cleverley claiming he "can't enjoy" the win.
The Watford boss was caught on camera in the tunnel post match by Watford's social media team, and despite victory, he cut a rather disgruntled figure.
Vakoun Bayo's second half strike was enough to secure a win that ensured the Hornets got the upper hand on some of their promotion rivals before the weekend's action, and they now sit back and watch it all unfold knowing their points are in the bag.
It's been a solid start to the season for Watford who, after last season's struggles, when they finished only five points above the bottom three, will feel a renewed sense of optimism at the moment, one seldom felt at Vicarage Road.
Seemingly gone are the days when it only seems a matter of time before a manager gets sacked, as Cleverley has endeared himself in the dugout, although that's not where he'll be for Watford's clash with Plymouth after the international break.
Cleverley was shown a yellow card for protestations deep into stoppage time on Friday and as such will serve a touchline ban at Plymouth.
It seems likely that the stoppage time antics which earned him a third yellow card of the season will be behind his subdued response at full-time.
Watford's social media team caught him shaking his head and saying "I can't enjoy it" when he return to the dressing room after the victory, and his mood was in stark contrast to some of the players.
Imran Louza, Edo Kayembe and Bayo are all seen to be joyous in their celebrations post-match, but they're in stark contrast to Cleverley, who seems rather frustrated with the fact his team will have to do without him at Plymouth.
He's been in football long enough to know how much of an impact that could have on his side, particularly with the promotion race so hotly contested this season, but there's now nothing he can do about it.
Thankfully for Watford, advances in modern technology mean that he'll be able to relay messages to the touchline easily enough, but you do wonder how they'll cope in the absence of their manager on the sidelines, particularly away from home.
Not that there's any great time for your manager to be watching on from the stands, but for Watford, an away game seems to be a particularly importune time.
The Hornets' travelling form of late has been nothing short of woeful, so it seems understandable why Cleverley would feel so downbeat after a defeat, knowing that he'll be absent from the touchline in their next away game.
Cleverley will know how big of an issue that is as he'll be acutely aware that if they're serious about a top-six finish, they'll need to start picking up points on the road.
Winning home games in the meantime is keeping them up there, but if there comes a time when things get difficult at home, they need to rely on their away form.
A points average of 2.71 at home this term has them sorted, but 0.75 on the road leaves them with comfortably the biggest disparity of any side in the league.
Having no real control over correcting that stat at Plymouth would certainly explain why Cleverley cut such a deflated figure in spite of victory.