Ben Watson believes Watford have been portrayed as the underdog in the Championship title race but he feels that has benefitted the Hornets in recent weeks.

The Golden Boys’ 1-0 win against Fulham on Tuesday night saw Slavisa Jokanovic’s side move into third place in the table.

They are level on points with second place Derby County and are just one point behind leaders Middlesbrough.

However, despite Watford winning six of their last seven league matches, they are only fifth favourites to win the title with bookmakers. Not that Watson is complaining.

The 29-year-old midfielder, who signed a new two-year contract with the club holding the option of a third, said: "At this point of the season, a team has normally pulled away at the top of the table. But it is so tight up there. The one good thing is that we have not been mentioned yet.

"We have gone about our business, not been mentioned and that is great. Everyone keeps talking about Derby and Middlesbrough and nobody has said anything about us.

"That is fine. We will keep going about our work quietly and keep picking up points."

But Watson, who wrote himself into Wigan folklore by scoring the winning goal in their FA Cup final win over Manchester City and boasts top-flight experience with the Latics and Crystal Palace, insists the Hornets squad is the best he has ever been involved in.

Speaking in a programme interview for the Fulham game, he said: "It's the most gifted squad I've ever been in, without a doubt, both in the Premier League and in the Championship.

"When you look at the all-round squad, nearly everyone's fit at the moment so there's about 25 players fighting for 11 positions, and everyone in their own right could probably argue they should be playing. If one player comes out, we know that woever comes in is just as good as the player they're replacing."

The underdog tag is a sentiment that has been echoed by Watson’s teammates. In his programme column on Tuesday night, Troy Deeney stated that "little old Watford" are rarely discussed as automatic promotion contenders in the media.

And, after his two goals helped the Hornets overcome Leeds United on Saturday, Matej Vydra said: "It is much better for us if everyone is talking about the other teams. We can just stay in the background, close the gap to the teams in front of us and then see where we finish."

While Watford have sealed three straight Championship victories, Middlesbrough have lost two of their last four matches and Derby have suffered back-to-back defeats.

Watson believes that is down to the pressure of leading the division. He said: "When you’re up there at the top you have the pressure of needing to win. You need to win every game to stay there. But we are in a great position.

"If somebody had said at the start of the season that we would be second in the table, level with second place on goal difference and one point off top then of course we would have taken it.

"But no team is going to run away with the league and win it by ten or twenty points. The team that is the most consistent will go up."