Watford: Heurelho Gomes impressing Sebastian Prodl after Orestis Karnezis emergence

The Brazilian stopper has not featured for the Hornets since the arrival of Javi Gracia in January after initially losing his spot due to a back injury.

With Karnezis impressing and fully committed to retaining the gloves for the long-haul, it would be easy for Gomes to become restless on the Watford bench.

However, Prodl says the 37-year-old, who is one appearance short of 100 in the Premier League for Watford, has approached being dropped in exemplary fashion.

“He can handle the situation. He’s been in the Premier League, and a professional footballer for nearly 20 years,” Prodl said.

“He’s been an outstanding role model at this club since I’ve been here, always a leader not just on the pitch.

“When it comes to the media, organisation and everything around talking to people, you can see he’s a leader and he can handle this situation because he’s experienced.

“He’s intelligent and he knows as well that we still need him, even if he is a little bit older. He is competitive and that is where we all want to be.”

Gomes’ stature at Watford is undoubted and he has been a near ever-present since joining the club in 2014.

Losing such an important player from the starting XI could easily have had an adverse impact on Watford, but Karnezis’ form has alleviated any concerns.

Prodl says the Greek stopper approaches the game in a relaxed manner and believes Watford are spoilt for choice in the goalkeeping department.

“Karnie has a very quiet approach, very focused, especially on the game. He’ll do his things right and try to command the defence,” the centre-back said.

“I think we’ve got, at the moment, tow good options and two good Premier League keepers. You can’t make a bad decision with who you pick at the moment.

“You can chose either and then we have a good back up in Daniel Bachmann. Gomes was injured and Karnie showed some good displays, so it is fair that he continues to play.”