Gianfranco Zola admits he was surprised by the "English fighting spirit" shown by his players on Tuesday night after Watford secured victory despite spending the whole of the second half with ten men.

The Hornets went into the second 45 minutes against Charlton Athletic a man down due to Fernando Forestieri's second yellow card just before the break but despite this, they took a 2-1 lead through Almen Abdi's impressive free kick.

Watford then spent considerable time on the back foot as Charlton searched for an equaliser but the visitors defended bravely and showed passion as they held on for the win.

Zola said: "I am learning about my team and I didn’t expect such a fighting spirit. With some of the balls, they really threw themselves into it.

"In this league, it is not just about the flair and the work you do on the ball; it is about the fighting spirit. Today we had a good mix of the English fighting spirit and the foreign flair. That is the perfect mix in my opinion."

Back-to-back victories mean Watford currently sit in 12th position; five points away from the drop zone and six from leaders Cardiff City. Not that Zola has noticed.

He said: "We have so much to work on and we need to improve on many things. We didn’t look at the table before these two games and we won’t start watching it now."