Quique Sanchez Flores: Watford head coach hails players' mentality upon return

Thursday 19 September 2019 17:23, UK

Watford head coach Quique Sanchez Flores has commended the behaviour and mentality of his players upon his return to the club.

The Hornets fought back from 2-0 down at home to Arsenal last Sunday to gain just their second Premier League point this season in Flores' first game in charge since he replaced the sacked Javi Gracia.

Flores returned to Vicarage Road with Watford at the foot of the table and admits it is mentally hard for the club to be in that position.

He said: "I think when you are in the bottom of the table, of course, the mentality is a struggle, but we need time.

"I think the behaviour and the performance of the players on the training ground is amazing, they look really positive. The way they understand everything and the way they played the last match, of course every single match is different, but very positive.

"I feel they're happy, I feel they're positive, I feel they're confident in the way they train and the energy they are using. They look fit and after the last match I think they've got a lot confidence for the next match."

The 54-year-old Spaniard led a newly-promoted Watford to a comfortable mid-table finish and an FA Cup semi-final in his first spell in charge of the club in 2015/16, but was sacked as a result.

The Hornets have since gone through three managers in three seasons before Flores returned, but the former Atletico Madrid boss is not concerned about his long-term future at the club.

Flores said: "We need to use time match-by-match, game-by-game, week-by-week. We don't have time to think forward too much.

"The necessity is right now. It's the next result, the next opponent. This is what we need to do, we don't need to plan too much. We plan a lot, but weekly.

"The atmosphere was amazing [against Arsenal]. I think when a team is improving or when a team is taking different steps, it's not just about the players, it's not just about the coach - it's about the fans, about this kind of environment when everyone thinks about the same."

Watford face a tough trip to the Eithad on Saturday to face Manchester City, and despite their shock defeat to Norwich last time out, Flores is wary of the qualities City possess.

He added: "For us, when we are preparing a match during the week, we are not thinking about how tough it is or not, because for us every single match is very, very tough.

"We don't believe in weaker teams. I think every single team now in the Premier League is very tough. We are preparing the match thinking about our possibilities, how we can do, how we can try to manage, how we can hold this kind of circumstance we are going to find in the match.

"But [we are] always positive thinking about how tough they are and how many skills and abilities they have, the players they have also, but in football, in life everything is possible."