“We’ve all had to fight” – Goal-scoring Super Eagles star reveals team talk ahead of derby win

The Nigerian defender was among the goals on Sunday as the Golden Boys returned to winning ways

Super Eagles centre-back William Troost-Ekong has revealed that Watford players had a soul-searching team talk before their convincing victory over Luton Town at the weekend.

Troost-Ekong scored his first goal in almost two years for Watford as the Hornets crushed their local rivals 4-0 at the Vicarage Road.

Before that encounter, however, Watford had been inconsistent and had lost their last game 3-0 to Millwall.

But in a players’ meeting just before the Beds–Herts derby, Troost-Ekong revealed he charged his teammates to remember their difficult backgrounds and become tough to beat for any opponent.

“We had a player meeting yesterday, and that was the key message to all the players. We had to stand up to the challenge. This was a huge game.” Troost-Ekong explained, via Watford Observer.

“I said, ‘Look guys, people have talked about us as a team that can be bullied but I don’t believe that’. All of us in the squad at some stage of our career have played lower league or come from all different sorts of backgrounds.

“We’ve all had to fight in our careers so we have to do it every week on the pitch.

“I’d back our boys against anyone, regardless of the size of the opponent, but we had to find that grit.

“That was the message today, find that grit: whatever it is that motivates you, use it and play with that fire inside you. We did that from the start today.”

Watford’s 4-0 triumph over Luton Town lifted the Hornets to 10th in the Championship standings, just three points outside the playoff places.