Silva Ignores Hostile Reception

Marco Silva insisted he was not fazed by the hostile reception as his Everton side slipped to a 1-0 defeat at Watford.

Watford supporters goaded Silva, and chanted “you’re getting sacked in the morning”, after Andre Gray’s second-half strike secured all three points for the Hornets, and piled more pressure on the Portuguese by condemning Everton to their third straight league defeat.

Troy Deeney stoked up the antagonism ahead of Saturday’s grudge match after he urged the home fans to ignore Silva, who was sacked by Watford 13 months ago amid suggestions he was engineering a move to Everton, and allow the players to “kick the s*** out of them”.

The Vicarage Road fans, however, taunted Silva throughout and were jubilant when Gray broke the deadlock after he tapped home midway through the second half.

Silva claimed afterwards that Deeney’s comments were part of a plan concocted by Watford to destabilise his Everton players. “For me, [the reception] is not important,” said Silva.

“I cannot control everything. What I can control is my team and try to control the opposing team. “The club had one strategy and they created a strategy for something to happen on the pitch.

“I was welcomed here by the people I worked with for many, many months because they know the truth and nothing more. The strategy they prepared is not important. “What I can control is my job, and with my conscience I did my job well when I was working for that club.”