Watford striker Troy Deeney admitted his side were fortunate to beat Aston Villa 3-2 after his late brace changed the complexion of the Premier League game at Vicarage Road
Ten-man Villa led 2-1 heading into the final minute, but Deeney, a boyhood Birmingham City fan, struck a quickfire double to send the relegated team slumping to an 11th successive defeat.
Deeney, who took his tally to 11 league goals, conceded Watford were below par.
"It took a while for us to get going, but it was a great victory," he told Sky Sports. "Credit to Villa; I thought they were good and they scored two decent goals.
"I thought we were poor and we can't hide from that. But in recent weeks we've played alright and lost games and I'm a firm believer in things working their way around, so we'll take that and I was happy to get those two goals."
With Watford having failed to win at home in the league since late January, the Vicarage Road faithful grew increasingly restless during the second half and Deeney understood that frustration.
"The problem is expectation because that's grown now," he said.
"We had a great start to the season and fans get used to winning. We have to deal with that, but we got the three points in the end.
"We go to Anfield next and we know they'll follow us there in great numbers."
