Watford boss Quique Sanchez Flores has been explaining in more detail his decision to drop captain Troy Deeney to the bench for last week's Premier League defeat at Tottenham.

Tiredness was cited at the time and the skipper is expected to return to the side for Saturday's match at Crystal Palace.

"The players need to understand we are a group," said Flores. "We don't have individual targets, we are always on the side of the collective targets and Deeney is the first player in the group who understands.

"Deeney is very important to the team but I need to think about him for the season. It is important not to do a drama when some player is on the bench. We have 25 players; it's unfair when some players are playing and others are not playing. All the players want to play so I understand perfectly the character of the players."