Stoke City manager Alex Neil praised the way in which his side adapted to a new system to protect their 100% home start at the bet365 Stadium on Saturday.
A fine finish from Andre Vidigal sealed the victory for Neil’s side, ensuring City made it three wins from three in ST4 at the start of the 2023/24 campaign.
The Potters’ boss named three changes to his starting XI – handing first league starts to Wesley and Luke McNally, whilst also recalling Jordan Thompson – switching to a 3-5-2 for the visit of the Hornets.
“It was a really hard-fought win,” Neil explained. “In the first two games in which I have watched Watford, I thought they were really good.
“We changed our personnel and shape - I felt that was necessary to give us the best chance of winning the game.
“It caught them a little bit cold and in the first-half we were the better side, creating good chances without really punishing them as much as we should have, which was frustrating.
“They started the second-half well but to their detriment because it left more spaces, the pitch was bigger and we got a goal in that spell.
“I thought it was a great team performance, they’re a good side and teams will need to play particularly well to beat them.”
Asked what pleased him most about the Potters’ victory, Neil explained the way in which his players delivered their gameplan was satisfying, given the short period in which the group has been together.
“It is a new group and I would like to garner a consistency in terms of how we play, but I just felt that wasn’t the best way to go about this game,” Neil continued.
“For the lads to take all of that on board and carry it out as well as they did, shows the flexibility that we have got as a squad.
“We still have work to do but I thought we showed both sides of the game today, I thought we played well in patches but we also dug in when we needed to.”
The Potters’ Portuguese winger, Vidigal, continued his stellar start to life at the bet365 Stadium with his fourth goal in as many games.
Neil was naturally pleased with the 25-year-old’s performance and that of his striker partner, Wesley, who the gaffer believed provided the perfect support.
“Sometimes you need a goal out of nothing and Andre always carries a threat,” Neil said.
“He has an appetite for goals, he doesn’t want to drop out and play in the wide areas, he wants to get in the middle of the box and get strikes at goal.
“When you have someone like that, irrespective of how you’re playing, you always have a chance of winning.
“He has started great and is flexible in terms of what he does, but he sniffs a goal out all the time.
He added: “Wesley was a really good foil for him today in terms of being that target.
“He gave us a presence so we could put the ball towards him and I thought the balance between playing out and turning the ball in spells in the game was good.
“I am really pleased with Wesley; that was a hard shift, having to bully a centre back every time the ball goes up to him, but I think he does that really well.
“What we are trying to get him to do is keep as much length in the game as possible so the rest of the lads can pick up the bits that drop in front of him. He is getting better at that and will only improve as the weeks go by.”