I’m not worried for my job, insists Silva after Watford lose again

Posted Sunday, January 21, 2018 by PA

Watford boss Marco Silva dismissed any fears over his job after the injury-hit Hornets lost at Leicester.

Jamie Vardy’s penalty and Riyad Mahrez’s injury-time strike sealed a comfortable 2-0 win for the Foxes at the King Power Stadium.

Watford have now won just once in 11 games – their 2-1 victory over Leicester on Boxing Day – and, while they sit 10th, the Hornets are only five points above the Premier League relegation zone.

Silva lost goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes, ending his run of 127 consecutive league starts, to a back spasm on Friday, while is also without key men Tom Cleverley, Will Hughes and Nathaniel Chalobah.

Watford have won just five points from their last 11 games, but Silva remains unconcerned over his job.

“My position? I don’t lose my focus from the situation, i know what our goal is as a team,” he said.

“I don’t lose my focus, I know our competence of a team as well.
“My job is to work hard, together with my players, to improve. They (the Watford board) know my opinion about everything.

“It’s not the best moment in the season, but the Premier League is 38 games, not only the last 10. We need to fight and work hard in every match to take the points.

“Yesterday we lost two more players – Gomes and Cleverley – and our injuries are really big. We are without seven or eight players and six or seven would be in the starting XI.

“If the best teams in the Premier League don’t have six players in the starting XI think how the team is different.

“I have confidence in all the squad, but it’s important for people to pay attention to this.”

Watford struggled to create chances, although they had a Troy Deeney goal ruled out for offside, while Andre Gray was denied by a late block from Harry Maguire.

But the Hornets failed to deal with the Foxes, who sacked Craig Shakespeare when they were in the bottom three in October and Puel now has them sitting seventh in a European spot.

The Frenchman, who was Leicester’s third manager of 2017, has lost just four times in 18 games in all competitions.

Mahrez has three goals in his last six games, while Vardy netted his 11th of the season after he was brought down by Molla Wague in the box.

Despite the Foxes’ form, Puel played down Leicester’s European hopes.

“The ambition is to continue this hard work and develop the players and continue to improve,” he said.

“The Premier League is so difficult, the next game we play at Everton and it’s a good team. It will be tough. we cannot look forward, it’s a good time to keep a good focus.

“The next game in the FA Cup (at Peterborough) will be difficult in a good atmosphere and little stadium.

“So we have to keep this good concentration on the pitch, the position for the moment is not important. “