Watford captain Troy Deeney is desperate to end his long trophy drought when his side take on Manchester City in the FA Cup final.
Deeney will lead the Hornets out in English football’s showpiece match on Saturday evening, aiming to inspire a massive shock against a City team going for an unprecedented domestic treble.
The 30-year-old, whose career began at Walsall, has never won a trophy as a professional and is keen to put that right.
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It will be some task against Pep Guardiola’s men and if Watford can do it Deeney knows they will earn a slice of history, having never won the FA Cup before.
“If I win I get to pick up a trophy in front of my mum which is massive,” he said. “I haven’t done that since I was about 12.
“So yeah, to be honest I don’t really want to look that far ahead.
“I’m just doing all the work I have to do now to make sure that I’m in the best position that I am to be a) picked and then b) if I am picked, to perform to a level that’s acceptable.
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“My last trophy was probably players’ player for the under-12s or something.
“I won it here a couple of years ago, didn’t I? This is different, this is a team one.
“The team ones are more important than anything and it’s history more than anything.
“You look at (former Hornets chairman) Elton John up there, he’s synonymous with this football club, but I want my picture up there for years to come.”
This is Watford’s first FA Cup final appearance since 1984, when they lost 2-0 to Everton, and it will be the biggest day of Deeney’s career, even if he is keen to play down the importance.
#ThatFeelingWhen you see the Wembley arch lit in your team’s colours 💡— The Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) May 17, 2019
It is the culmination of an eventful journey for Deeney, who spent time in prison in 2012 for affray.
“Of course, it’s massive,” he said. “It’s not going to be career-defining for me.
“If I don’t win a trophy everyone’s not going to go, ‘oh, he’s rubbish’. They think I’m rubbish anyway, so…
“For me it’s all about the process of getting to here, and then this will be the icing on top of the cake essentially, because my story to get here is a bit of a roller coaster anyway.
“We’re going to enjoy it. We’re not naive, this is a massive, massive test, probably the hardest one, but if you want to win trophies, and get into Europe, then you have to play against the best.”
Troy Deeney celebrates scoring against Wolves in the FA Cup semi-final (John Walton/PA)
Watford could be pinning their hopes on outsmarting City at set-pieces after Guardiola recently said he goes to church every time his side have to defend a dead ball.
That has been a strong part of the Hornets’ success and Deeney has vowed to give City captain Vincent Kompany a tough afternoon.
“I think anyone, I’m going to just talk about myself here, I think if I play well they’ll have had a very difficult day,” he added.
“If there are a lot of crosses in the box, as much as I really respect Mr Kompany, he would say it’s not going to be an easy day.
“Him going to church might be his own faith thing and I wish him well, but I think personally, if I’m on my A game it’ll be a very difficult game for whoever’s playing.”
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