Valerien Ismael insists Blackburn Rovers' faith in Hayden Carter and Scott Wharton influenced their decision not to directly replace Dom Hyam.
There was understandable concern when Rovers sold their most reliable defender on transfer deadline day with no further defensive additions. Hyam had started 50 consecutive Championship matches for the team.
In that time, Carter has struggled with injury issues and Wharton has just recovered from a long-term knee problem. Whilst there hasn't been any doubt about their quality, it was a big gamble on their fitness.
Their performances at Vicarage Road, particularly from Wharton, was a reminder of how good they are at Championship level. They restricted Watford to very few chances, none of which were clear-cut.
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Ismael was full of praise for their performance and insists their quality was a factor in the sale of Hyam.
"This is what we saw in him from day one," Ismael said on Wharton's display.
"I know there were a lot of questions about our centre-back and why we lost one. But we knew, or I knew, that with Hayden, Scott, Lewis and Sean, we were really, really strong in that position.
With Hayden and Scott, they just need games. At some point, if you want to see them come back on their level, they need games. We cannot add another body, another body, because at some point, everyone will be unhappy.
"So for us, it's worth it to build on Scott, to build on Hayden. They are the face of the club, they are the robust boys. I'm very pleased about the performance today, very, very strong.
This performance is because we have built him up from day one in the pre-season. We never rush him. We managed him to make sure he came through the pre-season.
"We knew at some point he had to be ready to play 90 minutes. Now he's sure that he's ready to play.
"Now it's all about the consistency. Can you repeat how it will be when you play Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday? So it's another question but at the minute, I think we just enjoy that he's back.
"He played 90 minutes and he was very strong."
Ismael noted his ability to make more changes from the bench with his squad now settled. Yuki Ohashi and Sondre Tronstad were withdrawn after taking whacks but those were precautions.
The change in shape allowed them to restrict Watford in wide areas and inject more energy into the team. It also ensured they didn't need to take any gambles on players' fitness.
"Yes, it was precaution because I have options on the bench now," Ismael said.
"There's no reason not to take any risks when you've got the option. Tactically, I wanted to change something as well.
"It was just the case to be more stable and to have more control in the midfield. So when you've got the option, then you can make the changes straight away without taking any risks.
"As long as everyone is available and you have more options for the next game, when you win the game, everyone is involved, everyone is happy."
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