Etienne Capoue says his focus remains solely on Watford despite being repeatedly linked with a move away from the club in January.

The French midfielder was the reportedly the subject of interest from both West Ham United and Torino, where he would have linked up with former Watford boss Walter Mazzarri.

He has been given a shot in the arm by the arrival of new Watford head coach Javi Gracia who has played him in a deeper role, leading to an improvement in performance.

The 29-year-old insists the links, which came in the wake of being given limited game time by Marco Silva, amount to little more than speculation and insists his focus remains solely on performing well for Watford.

“I read the links and I said I want to stay in Watford,” Capoue said. “I was focused on staying at Watford 100 per cent and even if there was no change in manager I was still focused on Watford.”

Capoue has often bore the brunt of Watford fans’ frustrations with his laid back approach drawing criticism.

In fairness to the Vicarage Road faithful, the former Tottenham Hotspur man has failed to produce performances of the level a player of his talents is capable of.

Despite the criticism, Capoue insists he has nothing to prove but remains dedicated to impressing for the remainder of the season.

“I will try my best every game and this is my aim,” he said. “The fans understand but are unhappy when you do not win and the players are unhappy when we do not win.

“I know they know what I can do, but a season is a long time and you can’t play well in every game.”