Mazzarri delighted with Watford form

Watford were among the favourites for relegation at the beginning of the season but boss Walter Mazzarri insists his side have developed a winning mentality this campaign.

The Hornets sit eighth in the Premier League table with five wins so far, and victory against Stoke City on Sunday could move them into the top six.

Mazzarri replaced Quique Sanchez Flores in the summer after Watford’s limp second half of the season, which led many to tip them for the drop in 2017.

But Mazzarri has led Watford impressively and last week’s 2-1 win against champions Leicester City showed the Italian that they can get the job done on a regular basis.

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“It’s not easy because you have to take into consideration that you have an opposition in front of you,” he said.

“It’s always a very strong opponent. I’m very happy that we played well for a long time against Leicester, and taking into consideration the second half, we showed that we can suffer but still win.

“This is the positive. Of course, I would always want to have the whole 90 minutes playing incredibly well every week.

“But it’s very difficult in a league like the Premier League, you will always have good teams.”