It’s fair to say I’ve been eating a lot of humble pie this week. I’m sure some other supporters have been as well.

Having been highly critical of Watford and head coach Walter Mazzarri in my fan’s view last week following a thoroughly abject defeat to Millwall in the FA Cup, I went from anger to pure elation and ecstasy in the space of two days.

I don’t think even the most optimistic of Watford fans expected us to beat Arsenal, but we went to the Emirates and put in an excellent performance.

You couldn’t fault any of the Golden Boys who took to the pitch and I don’t think anyone can argue that we were full value for our three points. However, that win would have meant nothing if we couldn’t follow it up with a result against Burnley at Vicarage Road at the weekend.

These games are the ones Watford need to be winning, especially as the match was at home, and a defeat would have meant that Mazzarri’s men would have been back to square one again.

All of these factors made Saturday’s game a huge one and ultimately, the Hornets rose to occasion to secure a vital three points.

Watford were helped by the fact that Burnley had Jeff Hendrick sent off inside the first ten minutes, but the Hornets still had to get the job done, and despite a tense final 15 minutes, we managed to do just that. There’s no better feeling than three points.

On the basis of things, Watford were probably full value for the win, as they controlled Saturday’s game for 75 minutes and they should have killed Burnley off much sooner, as Mazzarri rightly said after the match.

Saturday’s game was all about Watford’s new signings, all of whom played starring roles in the Hornets’ victory at the weekend.

While M’Baye Niang’s performance will grab the headlines, I was more impressed with Tom Cleverley’s display in the centre of the park and he was my man-of-the-match without a shadow of a doubt.

The on-loan Everton man was outstanding, as he didn’t stop running all game and broke up play superbly well. He also made some crucial interceptions and he retained possession brilliantly during the game. I don’t think Cleverley ever gave the ball away and he always looked to get forward at every opportunity.

Watford Observer:

I really hope we manage to sign him permanently at the end-of-the-season as he is a crucial player in this Watford side. It’s no coincidence that we’ve not lost when Cleverley has played. We don’t have another midfielder like him in the squad and I think he’s been superb ever since he re-joined in January.

Niang also stood out as well, with the on-loan AC Milan forward’s pace and power causing Burnley’s full-backs all sorts of problems. He scored a superb header and delivered a great cross for Troy Deeney’s goal, with the Frenchman proving to be a thorn in Burnley’s side all afternoon with his quick feet and power.

All of Watford’s best attacking moves went through him and he looks at home in the Premier League after two impressive performances in the space of a week. If he can replicate that performance consistently, then we’ve got a real player on our hands.

As a result, this week couldn’t have gone much better for the Golden Boys. Back-to-back wins in the Premier League, our first since September when we recorded consecutive victories over West Ham and Manchester United, has propelled the Hornets up to tenth in the league.

As such, it means we’re now no longer looking over our shoulders and instead, we can afford to look ahead to the rest of the season with optimism. It’s amazing what a couple of wins can do, hey?

The signs are certainly promising and it’s now up to the Golden Boys to replicate these performances on a regular basis during the second half of the season.

Bradley Hayden is the founder and sole writer of @WatfordFCBlog