The performances Watford have produced against some of the Premier League's biggest sides is down to the mentality brought into the dressing room by head coach Walter Mazzarri, according to his latest matchwinner.

Juan Zuniga previously worked with the Italian at Napoli, the same club who loaned the 30-year-old to Watford this summer, and he credited the Hornets boss with ensuring he and his team mates stood firm in the wake of a Manchester United side bristling with talent yesterday.

If anything, Watford looked more like the side who had spent £150 million on recruitment this summer, dominating their visitors for the mostpart and ending with a well-earned victory thanks to Zuniga's 83rd-minute strike, only 53 seconds after he had entered the pitch.

Mazzarri and his side were handed one of the toughest starts of any Premier League side this season, facing Arsenal, Chelsea and United already but, aside from shipping two goals in a crazy five minutes against the Gunners, have never looked overawed.

"That’s the mentality our manager puts into us," Zuniga said after yesterday's win. "It's a willing mentality. We don’t look at the name on the shirt [of the opposition], we try to do our best, and that’s what the manager wants.

"In football today, it doesn’t matter whose name is on the shirt, you just have to go in and give everything. We have played Chelsea and did the same - just go in and do your best."

Zuniga was deployed in central midfield on Sunday, as he has been in each of his four appearances from the bench since jetting in from Italy, despite being a full-back by trade.

With that in mind, it makes it less of a shock that his vital goal, finished more like a 25-a-season striker, was the first the Colombian has scored in five years.

And, after also winning an injury-time penalty to seal the victory, he was left delighted by the impact he was able to make in what was only a seven-minute cameo at the end of the game.

He said: "It is a very important goal. I had an injury a long time ago, and this is the first goal since that. My last goal was a long time ago.

"The manager told me to go into midfield and do a job there. As a professional you have to do that, and cover the midfield - and hopefully score."