Troy Deeney claims Watford players have been having "difficult conversations" ahead of a tough, but important game away at Chelsea this Saturday.

Defeats against Burnley and Southampton last week have left the Hornets in a particularly precarious position, just one point and one place above the relegation zone, with only results elsewhere preventing them from slipping back into the bottom three.

Speaking to the club website, the captain said the performances were not good enough and that the team have been having some frank and honest discussions this week in order to move forward.

“We’ve had chats – everyone was frustrated so we’ve tried to park it as quickly as we can in regard to moving onto the next one – but there’s certainly been a lot of things said,” said Deeney.

“It’s important we are able to do that as it doesn’t help anybody if people are not speaking up and saying what’s on their minds, so we had to get to a point where we understood everyone wants to win, no one’s playing bad on purpose, but if you don’t get to the required standards you’re going to get called out and that’s ultimately what’s happened.

“Sometimes you have to have uncomfortable conversations and the lads have done that and hopefully people will see a reaction at the weekend.”

The number nine went on to say that not only had the last few games not been up to scratch, the whole season was in fact below what should be expected of Watford.

He claimed that, should they manage to stay up, an important summer will follow to ensure such a season is not endured by the club in the future.

“We’re not blind, we know it’s not been good enough, the whole season as a whole hasn’t been good enough," he said. "But we’re also very aware that it’s still in our hands and if we can stay up we can review in the summer how we make sure this never happens again.

“We’re working hard, we’re having difficult and uncomfortable conversations, but we also know it’s not just about talking, it’s about getting down to work and making sure we can end the season on a high.

“There’s always been a determination to put things right, and next week is going to be a big week with Chelsea and the two home games we have following that.”