Walter Mazzarri has offered a staunch defence of his half-season spell in charge of Watford, claiming that the club remain well on course to achieving their main objective.

The Hornets started the campaign brightly and found themselves looking at an unlikely top-six finish when beating defending champions Leicester City in mid-November.

One win has followed since that triumph at Vicarage Road, however, in a run that includes five defeats and one draw - the latest a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur on New Year's Day.

Reports emerged overnight in The Mirror suggesting that Mazzarri was on the brink of becoming the latest Watford manager to face the axe, but the Italian is adamant that the only thing that matters is keeping his side in the top flight.

"The president and I have spoken and the first objective was to avoid relegation," he told reporters. "If you look at the table, we are doing even better than this. We could have been where Crystal Palace are, but we are not.

"I am not happy because we should have got more points with some of the games compared to the position we are now, and be even higher. But for sure we are in line with the objective of this year.

"At the beginning of the season we did much better than expected. I think if we get the injured players back and get over this negative moment, which every team can have, then we can get back again even higher in the league."

Watford, who take on Stoke City at the bet365 Stadium on Tuesday evening, have employed eight managers in the past four years.