Adrian Mariappa says hard work is forming the back bone of Watford’s climb up the Premier League table.

The Hornets battled back from a goal behind to claim a 2-1 victory against Arsenal yesterday, which takes them to into the top four, courtesy of Tom Cleverley’s injury-time winner.

Watford’s display was full of commitment and Mariappa believes the effort shown across the pitch meant the Vicarage Road club were good value for the win.

“First and foremost, we are covering the basics and really putting in a shift. People like [Abdoulaye] Doucoure and [Tom] Cleverley, if you look at their running stats after the game, they are unbelievable.

“Before the quality that [work-rate] comes and we are really putting a shift in for each other. We are not giving up until the end.

“Our heads could easily have gone down after going 1-0 down against a good Arsenal side. We didn’t give up and we got our reward in the end.”

For Mariappa, this season has been a productive one and he has made the most of absentees at centre-back to become an important player for Marco Silva.

An extended run of top flight games is something he has craved since his days playing for Crystal Palace and Mariappa believes he is benefitting from playing week in week out.

“What was frustrating at Palace, was that I didn’t have the opportunity to play. When I did play I played well, but if you’re coming in for one game and then not playing for three months, what can you really do,” he said.

“Here I have been given a chance to play in a run of games. I am just trying to do my best for the team and I have always felt I am good enough to play at this level.”