Javi Gracia has said that he is "very proud" of his Watford players for the desire shown to pick up a 1-0 victory over Everton at Vicarage Road.

The only goal of the game arrived 10 minutes from time via the boot of Hornets skipper Troy Deeney, whose first strike from open play this term helped lift the Hornets six points clear of the bottom three.

Gracia, who has guided his side to two wins and a draw in his four Premier League games since arriving, believes that credit is due for the manner in which Watford struck to snatch all three points late in the contest.

"It's a very big win today. I want to thank our supporters," BBC Sport quotes him as saying. "I'm very proud of our team today - we played a very, very good match.

"Troy Deeney is the captain. He's a very important on the pitch and off the pitch. We worked hard in the whole match, but in the good moment for us we took advantage and scored.

"We had more shots on target in the game. We knew it would be a tough match and it was tough. Like I've said, I don't know how many points are needed for survival I just focus on the next set of points."

Watford play bottom-of-the-table West Bromwich Albion next Saturday on their return to top-flight action.