Watford V Swansea at Vicarage Road Stadium : Match Preview

14 April 2017 04:34

Troy Deeney's reaction to his benching is normal - Walter Mazzarri

Watford boss Walter Mazzarri has no issue with his players being unhappy sitting on the bench.

The Hornets host relegation battlers Swansea looking to recover from last weekend's 4-0 drubbing at Tottenham.

Stefano Okaka led the attack against Spurs, with captain Troy Deeney starting among the substitutes before being sent on for the final 20 minutes when the game was already long over as a contest.

Deeney is said to have been left less than impressed by the decision but Mazzarri said at a press conference, reported on the club's official website: "I know all the players that don't play are not happy. This is normal.

"The fact they are not happy means they are keen to play and that they are very professional. I am sure it was the same for Okaka against West Brom when he did not play.

"We play these games with 14 players and it's just as important who goes on the bench as it is who plays.

"I am here to make the club grow and get the best performances and results possible."

Mazzarri feels "competition brings maximum performance" and defended his decision not to start with Deeney at White Hart Lane.

"Troy is okay and is available (against Swansea)," said the Italian. "Before the Sunderland game he had a problem and couldn't train for eight days.

"For Sunderland I chose Okaka as he managed to do all training and he was in a very good condition. We won and we played very well as a team, including Okaka.

"Three days later we played against West Brom and Troy played, even though we played well against Sunderland.

"After Sunderland, Troy trained very well with the team and he played very well. We won again playing very well. We won both games with both of the choices.

"The third one, against Tottenham, we needed more help in the defensive phase and Okaka was more fresh. It doesn't mean Troy wasn't in a good physical condition.

"I took many things into my decision: the work, the recovery - all the things a manager takes into consideration."

Swansea boss Paul Clement says his players continue to believe in their survival mission despite being stuck in the bottom three after their dismal defeat at West Ham last week.

After an initial improvement following Clement's arrival in January, the Swans have slumped and head to Watford having picked up just one point from their last five games.

For Clement the manner of the West Ham defeat was particularly galling but he insisted both he and his team will learn from their mistakes as they focus on the last six games of the campaign.

Clement said: "Clearly we're disappointed to have come off the back of five games and only picked up one point, and West Ham was probably the worst we've been since I've been at the club, but we have to move on quickly from that.

"I thought there was an anxiety in our play and it's difficult to say why that was the case. The mood this week was not so good in the first couple of days but spirits have really been lifted and we have belief going into this fixture.

"I'm always someone who will be very analytical about the players, the team and myself, and I think it's a strength of a coach to be able to say where you've not done well enough and what you can do to improve.

"I've told them that I've made some mistakes since I've been here - I'm a human being - and the most important thing is to learn from those things and try to limit those mistakes moving forward."


Source: PAR