Watford

Troy Deeney: 'Sacking Quique Flores is crazy'

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 16 May 2016

Watford captain Troy Deeney hits out at the club's "crazy" decision to sack manager Quique Flores after he steered them to Premier League safety.

Watford captain Troy Deeney has spoken out against the club's decision to sack Quique Flores.

Flores became the first ever manager to keep Watford in the Premier League this season, as well as steering them to the semi-finals of the FA Cup, but he will leave the club this summer following a disagreement with the board.

The Hornets' form tailed off dramatically in the second half of the season, but Deeney still believes that it is "crazy" to let Flores go.

"His time here has been a success. He's brought me on a lot as a player and a person. I have nothing but gratitude. We've had 16 new players and he's made it seem effortless. Sunderland have been in the bottom three and managed to stay up, and Sam Allardyce is being hailed as a great manager, which he is, for keeping them up," Deeney told Sky Sports News.

"But we've seemingly coasted through this season, never really flirted with relegation, and our gaffer's been sacked. It's one of those crazy ones. It's been very difficult to drive forward with that same focus at some times.

"Maybe we've left some 50/50 tackles out there in recent games whereas we were winning the 30/70 tackles against us at the start of the season. This is human nature and it doesn't take away from the achievements of the club."

Watford finish the season 13th in the Premier League table, eight points clear of the relegation zone.