"Surprised me" - Claim made on Watford star Mattie Pollock who is "captain material" | OneFootball

FLW's Watford fan pundit has been pleasantly surprised by defender, Mattie Pollock, so far this season.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Watford have enjoyed a decent start to the season under Tom Cleverley.

The Hornets entered a new era this year as former player, Tom Cleverley, took the reins as Head Coach, following a spell as Interim Head Coach.

It was Cleverley's first appointment as manager and there would have been some reservations regarding his experience.

However, the 35-year-old is very much proving his worth in the Championship, as his Watford side sit 7th in the table and level on points with the play-offs.

From their opening 12 league matches, they have won six, drawn one and lost five, so if they can find some consistency, they could be a real threat this season in terms of the play-off race.

On the weekend, the Hornets picked up their sixth league victory of the season after suffering back-to-back defeats, as they overcame fellow play-off hopefuls, Blackburn Rovers. Edo Kayembe's penalty in the second half was the difference-maker as Watford earned a 1-0 victory at Vicarage Road.

Some players have had to really step up for Watford this season, and it has shown in some of their results.

Watford fan picks out one player as their surprise package so far this season

Tom Cleverley has managed to get the best out of a few players so far this season, including defender Mattie Pollock. Football League World asked their Watford fan pundit, Justin Beattie, to name one player that had surprised him so far this season, and he selected the 23-year-old.

"A player that has surprised me so far this season with his performance levels in a positive way is Mattie Pollock. Mattie had a couple of loan spells out when he first came to Watford; he was then introduced into the first-team. He had an absolute shocker against Millwall a couple of seasons ago and didn't feature much in the team after that."

"He has come back this season strong, determined, reliable, and he is probably captain material one day at Watford. He has got that leadership quality that you need in a captain."

"I would say I'm surprised because, up until the start of this season, he was very much a defender that was prone to making mistakes. He didn't look as if he offered a lot at the back, but now he has really impressed."

Mattie Pollock's time at Watford

The central defender first made a name for himself at Grimsby Town as a youngster before earning a move to Watford, who were a Premier League club at the time, in 2021.

Pollock was then sent out on loan to Cheltenham Town, where he impressed throughout his 34 League One appearances. The following season, he enjoyed a spell on loan at Aberdeen, before being integrated into the plans at Vicarage Road.

Before this season, he appeared to be a bit inexperienced and prone to mistakes, as Justin referred to, but now he has really become a confident defender.

Pollock has started all 12 of Watford's Championship games this season, and has even chipped in with two assists. He mostly features on the right of a back three and has become a mainstay in Tom Cleverley's starting 11 despite previously being a bit part player.