Watford defender Adrian Mariappa is adamant manager Nigel Pearson can drive them to Premier League safety.

The Premier League basement boys are beginning to show signs of life after finally picking up their first home win of the season against Manchester United on Sunday.

“Everyone thinks we are going to go down but that is exactly the energy we need for this fight," Mariappa told the Mirror.

“It's ok to doubt us and think that we are finished but that is exactly what football is about. I have been in worse situations than this.

"When I was at Palace the team we had there was nowhere near the quality we have here and we still managed to finish mid table, so I've got full belief that we will turn this around.

“The overall interest in wanting to go that extra-mile and putting our bodies on the line for each other has grown and in the position we find ourselves that is the minimum we can ask from each other, we do have the quality to go on and score goals so now it's just about that."