Heurelho Gomes revealed the draw against West Bromwich Albion polarised opinion in the dressing room. Some, said the goalkeeper, “thought we could have won the game” after monopolising possession and attempts on goal. Others, you guess, were content with a point against a well-drilled, established Premier League outfit in West Bromwich Albion.

Allan Nyom is likely to have been in the latter category, especially when you have been part of another unfancied Pozzo-owned side who recorded home wins over Barcelona and Real Madrid. The marauding right back did as much as anyone to force victory on Saturday, rampaging up and down the right flank and even straight through the middle at one point in a bid to prize open, or even barge down, the Baggies’ obdurate defence. But, in the end, Nyom had to settle for a repeat of the goalless draw he achieved in his last competitive home match, the status-preserving nil-nil draw with Atletico Madrid on the final day of last season.

With the grim prospect of relegation not at stake and no Neymar, Messi, Ronaldo or Mandzukic to keep tabs on it was no wonder Nyom played with such refreshing freedom and abandon on Saturday.

“I do remember that game against Real Madrid,” Nyom said in an exclusive interview in the Hornets’ matchday programme. “We won 1-0 and it was very happy memory for everyone at Granada. Nobody, expect ourselves, expected us to win that game.”

We bet they didn’t, not with Madrid fielding an attacking line-up which includes Ronaldo, Gonzalo Higuan and Angel Di Maria. But even replacing Higuan with Karim Benzema at the break could not break down Nyom and Co at the back.

“I don’t remember a lot of detail about it and it really doesn’t matter to me who I have in front of me or which player I might have done well against in the past. I always give 100 per cent, no matter what. Of course its a very good thing I’ve experienced playing against good players like Ronaldo, Messi and Neymar because you learn so much from things. You learn the importance of concentration. If you lose your concentration for one moment against players like this you will die, because they are top players playing for top teams, so things get very complicated.

“I think this experience will help me as I settle into the Premier League. The players here in England are very different to in Spain, but they’re still very good,. They are very strong and very quick, so I know it will never be easy.”

The presence of Odion Ighalo has also helped the transition from Spain to England for the Cameroon international.

“I played with him for five years [at Granada] and we used to share a room together for away games, so we were good friends and always very close. I followed his success last year and how he’s continued where he finished last season.”

Click below to read our analysis of Nyom when we watched him train for the first time.