Watford manager Walter Mazzarri doesn’t believe his side are completely safe from relegation despite a hard-fought 1-0 victory over strugglers Swansea.
We are not safe – Mazzarri
The victory moves Watford up to 40 points and the Hornets now sit 12 points above the relegation zone. However, Mazzarri isn’t getting too confident.
The Italian said: “No not at all because until the numbers until the maths says we are safe we are not safe and I don’t want my players to relax so still to play with the same formation to get ready for next season.”
Watford face relegation threatened Hull City at the KCOM Stadium next weekend before a challenging final month. The Hornets host Liverpool and Manchester City either side of a three-game away run in which they will travel to Leicester, Everton and Chelsea.
A gutsy victory over struggling Swans
Etienne Capoue, on his return from injury, capitalised on a mistake from Swansea defender Alfie Mawson to separate the sides and make it three consecutive home victories for the hosts.
Mazzarri said: “I want to congratulate the guys who played today we were in emergency in defence again and everyone had a good game.
“We knew it was going to be a very tough game we could have ended the game but Okaka was offside and we didn’t and we have to suffer until the end but we knew it was going to be a tough game for us against a good squad.”
Mazzarri’s future
Watford have gone through several managerial changes in the past three seasons but Mazzarri has made his intentions to stay at the helm at Vicarage Road known.
He said that it's 'normal' that "when a new manager comes he has to give his identity to the team it takes a bit of time now the side is playing by memory and they are playing good football.”
Mazzarri has had an impressive first season in charge and has made some solid acquisitions such as M’Baye Niang and Mauro Zarate. The Hornets will be looking for Premier League stability and Mazzarri could be the man for the long-term task.