Watford boss Malky Mackay is delighted with the impact made by Manchester United loan duo Tom Cleverley and Craig Cathcart.

Mackay's Watford side were tipped for the drop from the Championship - but a run of four consecutive home wins took them up to sixth spot before last weekend.

Mackay said: "I rang Sir Alex Ferguson myself and spoke to him about Tom and Craig. The timing was right from their point of view but what caught my eye was that they'd both been out on loan before, Tom at Leicester and Craig at Plymouth. I liked that - they'd got themselves out of playing against other Premiership reserve youngsters to go to the Championship to play against men."