Watford players fear they are suffering from burn-out as a result of manager Walter Mazzarri’s tough training regime.
The Hornets have won just once in eight games, a sequence that has seen them plummet down the table.
Watford currently have nine players on the injury list, a fact bemoaned by Mazzarri this week as a reason behind their alarming slump.
But behind the scenes at Vicarage Road there is a belief that Mazzarri’s training methods are playing a contributing role to the club’s poor form and worrying injury list.