Watford Head Coach Chris Wilder was delighted to taste his first victory at the helm of the club as the Hornets ran out 3-0 winners over Birmingham City.

Goals from Imrân Louza, Keinan Davis and Britt Assombalonga secured three important points during the Sky Bet Championship contest against the Blues, with the boss pleased with the reaction following disappointment in his first match in charge.

Focusing on the performance, Wilder felt that his side reflected what he was looking for, securing the victory with a solid performance and a fast start as Louza opened the scoring inside six minutes.

He began: “Generally, on the whole, that was what we were after; a front-foot performance and players being able to dictate and dominate in possession, whilst having a good shape out of it.

“There was a 10-minute spell just after half-time where I imagine words were said in the opposition changing room that galvanised the away team, but in the first half, we should’ve been out of sight.

“The game should have been done and dusted. It felt like a 3-0 at half-time and it wasn’t. We have to be humble about that period [at the start of the second half], but we got through that and the third goal was key, and we saw the game out with ease.

“Filling the box was key and getting the ball into the areas we wanted to was key, which we did. It looks more like what we wanted it to be. The credit has to go to the players in terms of them adhering to how we want to play.”

Wilder also reserved a special mention for goalscorer Davis, who he felt was key to the victory and all-round performance, alongside others like Leandro Bacuna and Jeremy Ngakia.

“[Davis] would have enjoyed that goal, especially against the team he scored against with his background,” he continued.

“He is a young boy as well, and he doesn’t have a lot of experience. He had a fabulous period last year with Nottingham Forest and I knew him when he was at Aston Villa – trying to get into a Premier League side is never easy. He had a great effect on their promotion run and their play-off success and he has been, I imagine like a lot of players here, a little bit inconsistent.

“He has to be brave, and we talk about being brave in physical challenges, but there is another bravery in terms of taking on the chances. It was a fabulous finish and it was good to see him do what he did and hopefully, there is more to come from him.

“Of course, it’s good for Keinan, but also Leandro Bacuna hasn’t played a lot of football, Jeremy Ngakia hasn’t played a lot of football, Britt Assombalonga came on and he hasn’t featured a lot.

“It wasn’t just Keinan Davis and Imrân Louza scoring their goals, there were other bits and pieces. It was good for Koné as well in terms of him coming onto the pitch. There were a lot of plus points from tonight that we can take forward. Most importantly we are here to win and play well, and all those things that we needed to tick off, we ticked off.”

The boss acknowledges it will be imperative that his side reflect tonight’s performance this Saturday when the Hornets host Wigan Athletic (March 18, 3pm KO).

“I’m delighted for everybody, I’m delighted for the supporters because it has been quite difficult for them, but I sense they were enjoying what they were seeing tonight,” Wilder said.

“That little period after half-time – they were with us. We got that foothold back in the game and Britt scored, which was brilliant for him. My feet are on the ground and every win feels like New Year’s Eve and that has to be the case because you have to do lots of things right and work extremely hard to win a game of football.

“Certainly we have to show exactly the same, if not more on Saturday [against Wigan Athletic]. If we can replicate tonight in a lot of ways and get a big three points then it has been a decent start, but we need another big performance ahead of us against another big team who are fighting for their lives.”