Watford boss Cleverley thanks predecessor Wilder

An ankle injury ended Cleverley's playing career and he was unavailable for any of the eleven games Wilder refereed.

However, the current head coach of Sheffield United included Cleverley in the leadership role, opening a door for him through which he would soon step.

“I have a lot of respect for Chris,” said the Watford head coach.

“When I suffered a bad injury while he was coaching, he invited me to attend all his pre-season meetings and match planning discussions. That was my first real introduction to the work of a first-team coach.

“It was great for me to get these impressions and see how much attention to detail goes into developing a game.

“It was fantastic for me to get to know the human resources management side of things.

“I will be eternally grateful to him for that.

“He has also been promoted from this league before, so he has experience of success and they have a really strong squad.”

The fact that Wilder is facing a former club adds extra excitement to a game that already looked difficult when the fixtures were announced.

The Blades have been relegated from the Premier League and have refreshed their squad with ten new signings, three of whom cost £1 million or more.

“For me this is the biggest test of our season so far,” admitted Cleverley.

“This is no disrespect to the opponents we have played so far, but after four home games in a row, it is a tough away game, which is quite rare.

“I expect the quality they have gained in this transfer window will be our biggest challenge.

“I have challenged the players to deliver their best performance of the season so far and I know they are capable of doing so.”

The last time Watford travelled to Millwall for a league game a few weeks ago, they were a team with a poor 23/24 record and who had been written off for the current season.

Five wins and nine league points mean that a lot has changed in the perception of the club, both internally and externally.

“I hope it changes the players’ mindset,” said Cleverley.

“I want them to feel like a top team and not have an inferiority complex when we are out there on the pitch.

“I think I was really pleased with the attitude in the last two games: against Derby we showed patience and calm to beat them and then on Tuesday against Plymouth I thought the win was very routine and efficient, the attitude of a top team.”

“We need to continue to expand this and this will be a big milestone.”

“From a qualitative point of view, I am happy with our position, but this will be an indicator of where we are from a mindset point of view.”

Could Watford's largely unexpectedly high position in the early league table cause the Blades to view them differently?

“Possibly, and I'm sure they will respect us. They don't take liberties with other teams.

“I think back to the season when we got promoted. I think Reading were top of the table for five or six games and then everyone started to look at Reading differently.

“At the end of the season, Reading didn’t even make the play-offs.

“It's a game-by-game process and we will use the international break to reflect and see where we can be better.”