Why the Pressure Mounting on Watford Boss Quique Sanchez Flores Is Undeserved

The ​pressure on Watford boss Quique Sanchez Flores is already mounting only two months into the job.

Whilst this might not come as a shock given Watford's past relationships with bosses, it is a disappointing indictment of the game if the Spaniard were to be removed from his position.

​Watford sit bottom of the Premier League, having picked up only five points all season from a possible 33. Flores replaced former manager Javi Gracia in September, and since then has overseen seven Premier League games without a win.

Indeed, this poor form would put any manager in the Premier League under pressure, but it's even more worrying given the Hornets sit rooted to the bottom of the division. Couple this with ​rumours of tension in the dressing room, and it's not surprising that Flores may be on the verge of being sacked by the club for a second time.

However, to remove Flores only nine games into his tenure would be a rash decision by the Pozzo family.

A lot has been made about Watford's horrific start to the season - but no-one has really mentioned the extent of their current injury list. 

It speaks volumes when Flores stated before the 2-1 loss to Chelsea that he would play all the forwards he had available to him: Gerard Deulofeu, Andre Gray and Roberto Pereyra.

Where are the others? Captain and talisman ​Troy Deeney has been a huge miss both on and off the pitch for Watford. He had knee surgery in late August and has been sidelined ever since. Deeney wouldn't solve all of Watford's problems but he is so key to the way they play and that has been evident in their lack of goals this season, scoring only six in the league.

Danny Welbeck and record signing Ismaila Sarr are also injured, restricting Flores' attacking options.

Maybe even more important has been the injury suffered by Etienne Capoue. Along with Abdoulaye Doucoure, Capoue formed one of the best midfield partnerships around last season, but having missed the last five games because of injury, a lack of work ethic and grit in the centre of midfield has emerged without him. Watford's player of the season last term, the former Spurs man is instrumental to the Hornets.

This becomes even more clear when you consider that Flores is trying to change Watford's system, but is struggling to do so with the injuries that currently plague the squad.

Javi Gracia persisted with the 4-2-2-2 system that earned Watford an FA Cup final appearance and a record Premier League points total. However, the system eventually stopped working and Watford only managed two Premier League wins from 13 before Gracia was sacked.

Flores came in and has changed to a 3-5-2 formation, and it has worked to some extent. Watford kept their first two clean sheets of the season at home to Sheffield United and Bournemouth, and were unlucky not to beat Tottenham away.

Indeed, there are teething problems as you'd expect. There has been a lack of goals but the defence has sured up with Watford only losing to ​Chelsea in the Premier League whilst using the system. If Flores is still in charge​ in January, he will need to invest in proper wing-backs and better centre backs. It can work - but he needs the right tools to ensure it does.

However, even with this new system, Watford haven't won any of their Premier League games under the management of the former Espanyol boss. It is easy to understand why with their run of fixtures.

Since taking over, Flores' side have faced the teams in second, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh - and have had two difficult away trips to Tottenham and Wolves.

They salvaged a draw at home to Arsenal in his first game, narrowly lost to a good Chelsea side and would've beaten Spurs away if it wasn't for controversial VAR decisions.

Besides that, they were humiliated by Manchester City, and have had two goalless draws at home to Sheffield United, who are sixth, and Bournemouth, who are seventh.

Compared that record to Gracia, who picked up one point from games against Brighton, Everton, West Ham and Newcastle, and it looks like Watford are better off with Flores - despite Gracia's aforementioned FA Cup final and record points accomplishments.

Flores kept a poor Watford side up in their first season back in the ​Premier League when it was predicted that they would finish in the relegation zone. Gracia got Watford to 11th even after they looked like a team that could finish in the top seven.

Their FA Cup run last season featured no real difficult games until the semi final with the famous comeback against Wolves - but they were then thrashed 6-0 in the final by Manchester City.

Compare the two sides that the managers had at their disposals in their Premier League seasons and it makes more sense. Flores had a team that included Odion Ighalo, Ikechi Anya and Allan Nyom and managed to make them a respectable outfit. Gracia not only inherited a squad that had been invested heavily into but then added faces himself like Sarr and Deulofeu.

Flores is tactically better and knows how to get a team out of trouble. Gracia got Watford into a mess but didn't know how to sort it out - and he paid for failure with his job. It is unfair to judge Flores on the seven Premier League games that he has had so far.

They have a ​​huge game on Friday night when they travel to Norwich in a battle of the bottom two. After that, they play Burnley, Crystal Palace and Southampton in their next four. 

Flores has proven he knows how to keep Watford up and he needs to be given more time to reverse their fortunes - and with the fixtures they have coming up, he should be able to do it.