At the start of this season Watford striker Troy Deeney was serving a prison sentence for affray. He could end the campaign as a Premier League footballer.

Last June Deeney was sentenced to ten months in prison for his part in a brawl outside a nightclub in Birmingham. He served two-and-a-half months and was released on September 10, 2012.

Since his return to Vicarage Road, Deeney has been vital in helping the Hornets challenge for promotion.

He has scored just under a goal every other game and, while the likes of Matej Vydra and Fernando Forestieri have been rotated, the 24-year-old has been a mainstay in the starting XI.

The Hornets could be promoted this weekend if results go their way. What would that mean to Deeney?

“It would mean the worst year I’ve had would then become one of the best,” he said.

“You strive to be in the best league in the world and if we can get there on Saturday it would be a very nice achievement.

“We had a little taste of the Premier League at Manchester City and even though we lost I think we held our own.”

Deeney has found the net 19 times in the Championship this season to help the Hornets to third place in the table.

If they beat Leeds United tomorrow (Saturday) and Hull City fail to defeat Cardiff City then Watford will be automatically promoted to the Premier League.

Deeney believes “the club would have paid a lot of money to be in this situation” and praised the effort put in by all the Hornets staff.

“The lads put a lot of hard work in pre-season to play the style we play in now. I was able to come in and fit in easily,” he said.

“From the physio department to the boss, we have all worked hard on the training pitches and on the fitness side.

“It’s good to see the fruits of your labour coming out in a positive way. We’re hopeful that if we do not go up on Saturday that we can have a good run into the play-offs.”

Deeney was promoted with Walsall to League One in 2007 but he only played one match for the Saddlers that season.

He has certainly had a big impact on the Hornets push for the Premier League and believes Watford have once again proved doubters wrong.

He explained: “You look at the so-called professionals who predict where teams will finish and every year I have been here we have been predicted to be in a relegation battle.

“But we have finished in mid-table, not miles away from the play-offs, and this season we are looking at automatic promotion. So in that sense we are not meant to be where we are.

“We will just enjoy the ride and if we do go into the play-offs we would face teams that we’ve already beaten at some point in the season.”

Vicarage Road will be sold out tomorrow and Deeney praised the supporters who have helped lift the players in recent weeks.

“We have had very big crowds for the last five weeks now whether we have been at home or away,” the striker said.

“Even if some of the results haven’t been fantastic, the performances have been lifted due to the noise of the fans.

“Hopefully that is the case on Saturday. We will probably know what Hull are doing by the reaction of the crowd.

“For us it is all about getting into work mode and making sure there are no nerves and no excuses.”

He continued: “Cardiff are a very professional side and the lads they have got will not want to lose.

“Knowing Malky (Mackay) as a manager, he hates losing and that will be the case whether they are up or not. They have kept something like 16 or 17 clean sheets, hopefully they can add another one and do us a favour.”

A point could be enough for Watford if the Tigers lose against Cardiff however Deeney insists the Hornets players would be focused on winning the match rather than settling for a draw.

He said: “We are not a team that sit back, we don’t really sit in and defend a 1-0 lead. We would always try and get another goal.

“If there are a couple of minutes left and we get word from the boss we are up, then we would play professionally and put the ball in the corner.

“But other than a situation like that we will play our own game and try to win the match.

“You do not want to be in a position where something like a set-piece could undo everything.”