Thursday 26 November 2015 16:43, UK
Watford head coach Quique Sanchez Flores says Troy Deeney will not be fazed by returning to his boyhood club Aston Villa on Saturday.
Birmingham City fan Deeney was in the youth team at Villa Park, but was released by the club aged 15 and subsequently played for non-league Chelmsley Town, before returning to professional football with Walsall.
Flores said: "He is very competitive, he never wants to lose and not against Aston Villa, it is not in his mind.
"He manages this kind of situation very well, it is an extra motivation for the players so I talked with him about this matter for maybe two minutes.
"I don't feel scared or worried or anything. I feel very calm about it."
Flores also said he was confident Deeney would not be affected by scoring the decisive own-goal in their 2-1 home defeat by Manchester United last weekend.
"He is part of the soul of the team," he said. "He represents well what we want. He is fighting always, he's scoring now and the last goal, the own goal - he is fighting for goals in every sense.
"He is very important because he is always focused and knows what happens in the squad, in the dressing room, on the pitch. He is a captain so if something happens he transmits to me as quickly as possible.
"He will say 'Coach! This situation has happened' because I don't know sometimes what has happened.
"The connection with him is very very important and I am very happy to have an English leader. It is very important for me."
