Kjerrumgaard has been

Watford head coach Ed Still heaped praise on striker Luca Kjerrumgaard, describing him as one of the standout players of his reign so far.

Kjerrumgaard has started all four matches since Still was appointed in the middle of February, heavily involved in an own goal at Preston North End before definitively scoring against Derby County and Bristol City.

Pollock touch-and-go as Still seeks best display of his reign at Sheff Wed

The Dane's hold-up play and confidence levels have evidently improved for the run of starts, all the more crucial considering Mamadou Doumbia is banned for this week's trips to Sheffield Wednesday and Stoke City.

The goal at Ashton Gate, meanwhile, when Edo Kayembe's low cross was swept into the roof of the net, was a good example of the synergy he is developing with his team-mates.

Kjerrumgaard has now been credited with nine goals this season and Still has been suitably impressed.

Still said: "Luca has been terrific, one of the standout players in the past few weeks for us.

"He's put in four fantastic shifts in all four of the games. His physical output in the last game at Bristol City was fantastic.

"On top of that, he's got that quality in the final third, especially in the box, which makes a big difference between drawing and winning games.

"Long may that continue for us. He feels he's found a bit of confidence and he feels in a good flow at the moment. We just want to help him in that direction.

"He's got great attributes, great qualities, that we want to get the best out of. We want to play to his strengths and so far it's helped the team massively.

"We want to keep feeding him in the areas where he likes to finish."

Luca Kjerrumgaard wheels away (Image: Alan Cozzi/Watford FC)

Kjerrumgaard is one of a few young players – Nestory Irankunda and Othmane Maamma also among them – playing their first season in the Championship, and from whom consistency can't be guaranteed.

The striker, technically on loan from Udinese, is one the club hope will prove to be a more worthwhile investment than somebody with more Championship experience but less potential.

One-on-one work is one of the ways in which Still aims to make that happen.

He said: "I spoke quite a bit in the first few days here of that balance between the collective work we do on the training pitch and the individual work, how they go hand in hand.

"Definitely Luca is one of those examples that stand out and there are a lot of other cases where there's a huge amount of individual work going on behind the scenes.

"That's on the pitch and in the video rooms as well.

"We want to get the best out of the players in terms of what their profile is and Luca has got a very specific profile, where he can play back to goal but he's also really good at attacking spaces behind an opposition's defence.

"We want to exploit that so he can shine."