Quique Sanchez Flores revels in 'amazing' win over Newcastle

After a string of bad results, Quique Sanchez Flores was delighted to see Watford get back to winning ways with a 2-1 victory over Newcastle on Saturday.

Odion Ighalo and Craig Cathcart struck in the second half for the Hornets as they ended a run of four straight Premier League defeats at Vicarage Road.

"It was an amazing victory for us," the Watford boss told Sky Sports. "The opponent was very tough, it was a difficult challenge and I thought we played really well. I think the result was fair and I'm very happy with the performance of the players.

"We had problems [in the last two games] against Southampton and Swansea and we lost a bit of spirit after an intense period of the season, the players are human beings and sometimes they get tired. 

"Today we changed to a fresh system for the players, I think it was working very well and we enjoyed it a lot. In the second half it was a bit less and not quite the same level but we're happy with the performance."

The win saw Watford move back into the top half of the Premier League table, and Sanchez Flores praised his players for defying their expectations as relegation candidates at start of the season.

"I always say I love these players because if you asked everyone before the start of the season they'd say we were candidates to finish bottom," he said. "But we know how hard we've been working and sometimes it's possible to have a bad run. 

"We are fighting every time and we deserve to be where we are. We have a lot of reasons to enjoy this season."