“I’d put myself in the top five crossers when I was playing and that’s not being big headed.” It’s a claim that very few people who saw Nigel Callaghan play will disagree with.

The former winger will always be synonymous with the golden era in Watford’s history; his gift of striking and crossing a ball pivotal to the Hornets’ attacking potency under Graham Taylor as the club achieved promotion to the First Division for the first time, finished runners-up, qualified for Europe and reached the FA Cup Final.

Callaghan will be back in the town where he made his name on Friday, November 2 with the former teammate who supplied the ammunition from the left flank, John Barnes, for An Evening With event at the Mercure Hotel.

The 56-year-old, who went on to play for Derby County and Aston Villa, is looking forward to the evening and said: “John and I have got so many stories the Watford die-hard fans would love to hear and nobody talks about them.

“A lot of the time when players bring out books it’s about ‘we won the cup this year and we did this’ but a lot of people would love to hear about the other side of the game, the tours you go on and some of things that happen, so that’s what we’re going to try and bring out.”

As well as the stories and anecdotes, memories of Callaghan’s crossing ability may be recounted for he could deliver a ball with precision and pace and do it without having to beat an opponent. But was that talent natural or one that was more achieved through hard work?

“I’d say I was natural,” he responded. “I could hit a ball and I could hit a ball off one step. I did get better, practice makes you better and I had to get out in the afternoons and put the ball in the box for Luther [Blissett] or whoever it was to stick into an empty net.

“When I was younger I was about 8st and I had good strong legs but I had a body like a sparrow, but I could hit a ball and most of my goals in my career have come from outside the box. I didn’t get many tap-ins or headers, but I got goal of the season in three years at Watford.”

Callaghan spoke affectionately of the man who was responsible for bringing him and a host of others through the ranks at Vicarage Road, Tom Walley, and Taylor - “a good manager, he could make you a better player”.

Looking back on that golden era, he reflected: “It was like a board game, you never knew which square you were going to land on next.

“It was one big happy family. It wasn’t a business, it was a football club.”

Callaghan continues to work as a DJ but while he admits to having “certain regrets” when he looks back on his career in the game, he knows he was fortunate.

He said: “When you think back there’s certain players that played from maybe 18 until 40 and probably never had the highlights and played in the top league, so I count myself very lucky.

“I was in a side at Derby that did things and Watford did things and I’ve got my Under-21 England caps, so I’ve been lucky considering when I joined Watford I wasn’t one of the five apprentices they expected to go to the top. And funnily enough the two of us they weren’t sure about were the two who made it, me and Charlie Palmer.”

Tickets for An Evening With John Barnes & Nigel Callaghan are available via www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/an-evening-with-john-barnes-nigel-callaghan-tickets-48619995716