New Hornets head coach Quique Sanchez Flores says he is grateful to the man he replaced at the helm, Slavisa Jokanovic, for the job he did in guiding Watford into the Premier League.

The Serbian guided the Golden Boys to promotion to the top flight after eight years away as the Hornets finished runners-up to Bournemouth on a dramatic final day of Championship action in May.

But after contract talks between Jokanovic and Watford turned sour, the former Chelsea midfielder left Vicarage Road and has since been appointed as head coach of Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv.

When he succeeded Billy McKinlay as the Golden Boys’ fourth head coach in October, Jokanovic joined a side second in the Championship.

But after dropping as low as seventh following a four-game losing streak, he returned Watford to the automatic promotion places with a timely run of form in the new year.

Speaking to the press for the first time after being unveiled as Watford’s fifth head coach in less than a year, Flores paid tribute to the job Jokanovic had done in restoring the Golden Boys to the top table of English football.

He said: “I must say thanks to Jokanovic because he did amazing work in the last year. If I can work with Watford in the Premier League this year that is because Jokanovic and his staff did amazing work.

“I will not forget that and I want the fans to remember Jokanovic’s promotion with this team. But football is football. This is our situation now and we must continue with the same spirit,” Flores added.