Capoue a new player after Tottenham struggles, insists Flores

Watford midfielder Etienne Capoue has moved on from his disappointing spell with Tottenham, according to head coach Quique Sanchez Flores.

Flores’ Watford sit seventh in the Premier League after a brilliant first half of the season and are just three points adrift of fourth-placed Spurs, who they face at Vicarage Road on Monday.

Capoue, 27, has been a key figure in Watford’s strong campaign – starting every one of their 18 top-flight matches so far.

A start against Tottenham would match his tally of just 19 starts in two seasons at White Hart Lane, but Flores insists the Frenchman is now a new man.

“He is not thinking about Tottenham,” Flores told Sky Sports when asked about Capoue.

“He is completely happy at Watford. When we talk about football we talk about Watford. We talk about his performances this year.

“He is a new player today which is very good news for us, to incorporate this type of player. It is amazing to observe that this player is going to play football, to organise, to stop players – for us it is good.”

Flores is keen to push on despite Watford’s achievements to date and feels his side have an advantage over teams like Spurs who also have to balance European commitments.

The former Atletico Madrid boss continued: “We just need to think about the next match. We are not planning a lot about the next month. We had a positive result at Chelsea [a 2-2 draw on Boxing Day] but we have to play again.

“We don’t have other competitions, like the big clubs, so our main target is clear and that is a help.”