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Watford’s Troy Deeney opens up on why he was dropped against Huddersfield

Watford’s Troy Deeney opens up on why he was dropped against Huddersfield Town over the weekend, which then saw Vladimir Ivic sacked.

The club captain was surprisingly and controversially dropped for the game at the John Smith’s Stadium on Saturday despite playing the past four games and scoring in each of the past three.

He travelled with the squad to Yorkshire, however the 32-year-old was left on the bench as an unused substitute.

The game – which ended in a 2-0 defeat for the Hornets – proved to be the final one in charge for head coach Vladimir Ivic who was sacked on Saturday night.

The Serbian claimed to have left Deeney out of his starting line-up due to fatigue and he had not brought him off the bench due to ‘discipline issues.’

However, the forward has been left bemused by that suggestion and insisted he does not know what he did wrong.

Speaking on TalkSport on Monday morning about the weekend, he said: “[It was] eventful..where do we start?

“We had training as normal on Friday, I got told the team and I wasn’t involved. I’m not happy but it is what it is.

“We were leaving at 2.30pm so at 2.10pm I was getting a massage but I got a call to say ‘Troy, can you come to see the gaffer?’

“I said no problem, I was just getting a massage so I would be there in 10 minutes. That was it, so I went to his office but he was in the canteen.

“So I went there, he was eating and he didn’t pull me [over] so I thought it couldn’t have been anything important. We’ll speak on the bus. We travelled up…nothing. We got the hotel…nothing.

“[So I thought] it can’t be an issue. I’ll be honest my face was probably like thunder because I had been dropped having scored three in three so I’m not happy but with so many games you start to understand it.

“So we get to the game and I thought I would be coming on at some point, but nothing…not even asked to warm up. I thought, okay, this is going to be a Monday morning job, we’re going to have to deal with this.

“I got in the car to go home..ping, ping, ping…he [Ivic] was resting me for being fatigued for playing four full games over the past few weeks and then it was a disciplinary.

“I had been disciplined for something but he didn’t want to speak about it. People were asking me what I had done, had I kicked off, but I didn’t know.

“The only thing I can say is when he asked to see me, I didn’t stop the middle of the massage to go and see him. That was genuinely it.”

Ivic was surprisingly given the chop after just four months in the job and after losing only four matches in 20 in the league.

He guided the club to 5th in the Championship table, but the board weren’t happy with the performances they were seeing.

They have since appointed Xisco Munoz, who led Georgian side Dinamo Tbilisi to the title last season.

Asked if the incident involving Deeney had an impact on Ivic’s dismissal, the player said: “No, I didn’t play so it didn’t affect the result.

“I didn’t kick off or do anything that would hamper the team and even if I did get back in, it would have made my job even harder so it doesn’t make any sense and I wouldn’t be a good captain if you were hammering the manager and then trying to get the boys on side.

“That’s it and sometimes I thought is he just trying to dig me out because he’s made a tactical decision that hasn’t worked, and then I was getting angry. But I was thinking, I can’t win anyway.”

There was reaction after as Watford’s Troy Deeney opens up on why he was dropped against Huddersfield…

@KB3471: Just watch that again… the part he swore on his kids life he was correct. But his body language at the beginning shows how shit up he was. He was asked to see the manager when having a massage and didn’t – he left it till he finished. No respect. He loves himself

@TheAquaFresca: He LOVES a drama … toxic twat

@MikeTheMonkey77: If your boss asks you to go and see him, you damn well go and see him. You don’t ignore him just cos he’s eating. Disrespectful and arrogant.

@pedro118118: Players never to blame for anything……blah blah blah………bottom line is Troy was explicitly called in to see the manager and he couldn’t be arsed. Finish a massage, get a snack………go for a stroll……………what’s the problem? Basic lack of professional courtesy.

@toves4130: 1. If the gaffer calls for you, you go and see him immediately. 2. You don’t ignore him for 3 days, he is the manager and basically responsible for you having a job and being paid. 3. If you got him the sack, own it and don’t lie. 4. You are a footballer, concentrate on that!

@WFCPaulH: If Troy Deeney is such a problem to Head Coaches why did ‘strict disciplinarian’, Ivic, who only plays ‘players who want to be here’, play Deeney so regularly recently? You can critique the player all you want but I don’t buy that Troy is so much trouble. #watfordfc

@mrsnodes: Just underpins that if Pozzo and Duxbury want to retain a shred of credibility, they need to be honest with the fans and explain what happened. #watfordfc

@ARobery: Never him is it, not the first manager to question his attitude is it!

@FootballOracle2: He has to be the most unlikeable man in football …

@RyanMac97158556: This is so unprofessional.

@JoeSelner: Why are Watford allowing him to do this? He’s making out he’s a victim…. why didn’t he go up to the gaffer and say when you get a chance shall we talk if the gaffer was eating?…,

@LeeJackson_1: Sick of this bloke. Clubs a laughing stock because of shite like this being aired on national radio. Until him and a core group of other self-important over paid has beens leave nothingwill change regardless of who comes in. It’s their way or the highway. Embarrassing…

Jason: Surprised that Watford’s Troy Deeney chose to opens up on why he was dropped against Huddersfield, on national radio

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