Ben Foster has hailed new head coach Nigel Pearson for putting a rocket up the Watford squad and firing them towards safety.
Watford beat Wolves 2-1 on Wednesday, with goals from Gerard Deulofeu and Abdoulaye Doucoure cancelling out Pedro Neto’s strike.
The Hornets have now won three out of their five games under Pearson and are just two points off 17th place.
It is a remarkable turnaround for Watford, who before Christmas looked destined for relegation.
In Pictures | Watford vs Manchester United | 22/12/2019
Pearson has reignited the squad and Foster says it is down to the 56-year-old laying down the law in the dressing room.
“His first game at Liverpool I’ve seen him stick a rocket up somebody like you wouldn’t believe at half-time,” Foster told The Athletic.
“We’re doing really well and he’s absolutely going after people and everybody’s like: ‘Oh, wow — I can’t let my standards slip here’.
“You need to almost fear your manager a bit, in the way that you’d fear Sir Alex Ferguson or someone like that.
“We’ve been crying out for an English manager for quite some time now. We knew we had the players, we just needed someone to put a rocket up us — and that’s what it is. Simple as that.”
