Troy Deeney has revealed how Walter Mazzarri attempted to sell him during his short-lived spell in charge of Watford.

The Italian lasted just a single season at the Vicarage Road helm in which time he had a difficult relationship with Deeney.

Mazzarri attempted to sell Deeney in the January transfer window of the 2016/17 season and the Watford skipper was left frustrated by the lack of transparency under the now Torino boss.

“I didn’t get on with him from the start,” Deeney told BBC Radio 5 Live. “I tried to be respectful but then there were times when I was scoring, the team was winning and the next game I was on the bench.

“I asked if I’d done something wrong and it was ‘no you’ve been great.’ I asked for an answer and it never happened.

“He tried to sell me in January which I didn’t like so I asked if I was available to be sold and was told ‘no we need you, you’re the captain, you’re everything’ – and next thing you know he is still trying to sell me behind my back.”

Having been the standard-bearer at Watford for a number of years prior to Mazzarri’s arrival at Vicarage Road, the attempt to force him out of the club left a sour taste.

The 30-year-old admitted to finding it hard to lead from the front in the way he had been used to as the Hornets’ skipper.

He said: “As captain it became really difficult to relay the message you know you should to players who are not in the team, keeping the focused when I probably wasn’t focused.”