Pollock welcomes competition from Mlacic and Coulibaly

Both recruits have featured off the bench in the last week and impressed, finally providing Alessio Dioniai with alternatives to Pollock and Kevin Keben.

As club captain, Pollock's place in the team is likely beyond dispute for now, but he was impressed by how Mlacic fared at Swansea and Coulibaly at West Brom.

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And he knows he will have to keep up his solid start to the season to be sure he remains in the side in the long term.

He said: "I've got to make sure I start keeping the ball on the pitch now!

"Obviously I want to play every game and if I can help the young lads coming in, that's great.

"But also there are lads my age who are capable of coming in and locking me out of the team, ultimately, so I've got to make sure that my performances are high.

"At the end of the day, I can shout and scream as much as I want but if I'm not performing then I'm going to come out.

"I've got to make sure it goes hand in hand and the quality the lads who have come in have got is really good.

"They're going to drive the standards high and make sure that me and the other lads are on our toes. That's healthy to have in a team.

New signing Branimir Mlacic (Image: Alan Cozzi/Watford FC)

"Bran [Mlacic] is strong, quick and vocal. I was really impressed - for a young lad, he was miles better than I was at that age.

"And he's a nice lad, it's good to have him in the changing room. He's adapted really well.

"And in terms of Coulibaly, we're buzzing with him. He's good, so vocal, energetic, and I think you see at the weekend that when he came on he really picked us up and gave us a little bit more energy.

"All the new lads have really adapted to the changing room and brought good values, so we're all buzzing to have them in."

Injuries have disrupted things badly in the full-back positions, with Jeremy Ngakia and Omar Traore's absences allowing Albert Eames plenty of exposure at first-team level.

Pollock thought Eames received some undeserved stick after the West Brom defeat and referred to his own experience when stressing the need for young players to be afforded patience.

He said: "I think he [Eames] has done really well.

"West Brom is tough and I think he's probably come in for a little bit of unfair criticism.

Albert Eames takes a throw (Image: Alan Cozzi/Watford FC)

"It's not easy for a young lad to come in and do that. Look at how I started at Watford with Millwall away, it's easy to just go against him and write him off but I thought he did well, he stood up and throughout the game. He was loud, he was vocal.

"He didn't give up once and I was really proud of him. He was up against a tough opponent [Isaac Price] who I also find tough, so he did a really good job.

"You've got to get through those moments. At Wrexham he came on and was brilliant, then sometimes you go to another game and it's away again, and it can sometimes be tough.

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"Albert has to go through that and I've said to him that all young boys - including me even now - have bad games. You've got to make sure that in your good ones, you're good, and when you have the bad ones just try and be a little bit quieter.

"It's about experience, learning as much as you can, and he needs so many more games and much more exposure to this.

"I'll be happy to be there helping him throughout it."

Behind the back four, goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia has made an impressive start to life at Vicarage Road.

Federico Ravaglia (Image: Alan Cozzi/Watford FC)

Pre-season reports suggested Ravaglia had struggled at Bologna last season, but that a boost of confidence - which he appears to have found - could help him rediscover his previous levels.

Pollock is a big fan of the new number one.

He said: "Since Fede's come in, he's been superb.

"Not only brilliant on the pitch, but he's brilliant off the pitch.

"The lads love him, he's a real character. He's daft as a brush, so he'll fit right in, and I think you can see that with the way he comes out for pretty much every cross.

"As a defender, that's what you want from a keeper. He's out for everything, he's brave as, and you feel really confident and comfortable with him playing behind you.

"He's 100% kept us in games, so as defenders we owe him a clean sheet. I don't think he can do much more.

Mattie Pollock in action (Image: Alan Cozzi/Watford FC)

"As centre-halves we have to take some accountability and make sure we're stopping those opportunities to help him get the clean sheet that I believe he deserves.

"We have to be pushing for more, especially at home, and making sure we make it as tough as teams make it for us when we go away.

"We don't give easy goals away, we make sure we're a real force at home. That starts from defending and keeping clean sheers."