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Troy Deeney was motivated to deliver his best Premier League season by an uncle collaring him at a family wedding and telling him: “You look fat.”

Watford’s talisman leads the Hornets into Saturday’s home FA Cup quarter-final against Crystal Palace as a marked man after admitting his team “took it in turns” to foul Wilfried Zaha in the clubs' league meeting at Vicarage Road earlier in the season.

Deeney’s raw honesty also landed him a £20,000 fine two months ago after his remark that referee Simon Hooper had “bottled” a couple of possible red card decisions at Bournemouth. But no home truth resonated more with the Watford captain than a blunt pep-talk last summer.

He got the message and, after shedding a stone of bulky excess muscle, has contributed nine goals and five assists to the Hornets’ cause this season.

(Image: Reuters)

“My Uncle Dave did me a good turn. We were at my Mum’s wedding and he told me I looked fat — it was actually a bit more coarse than that," said Deeney. "Dave runs his own metalworks business and is a straight talker, which I’ve always appreciated about him.

“I’d been thinking of getting myself going and having a big push for it this year, and that comment sealed the deal. I’ve not really looked back from that point — along with a bit of social media: a few fans giving me a bit of stick, which I occasionally use for motivation. I made a positive choice to have a massive go at it.”

Deeney’s revelation in Watford’s matchday programme bookmarked a season of genuine consistency and head coach Javi Gracia has earmarked him as a possible future manager of the club.

(Image: Action Images via Reuters)

Gracia said: “Troy has been very important to us from the beginning and he’s going to be important until the end.

“I’m not very interested in some stats more than my own opinion and, in this case, I know how important Troy is for us. He’s been in this team a long time, he knows the club better than anyone and I know he needs his team-mates to be able to show his characteristics and all the things he can do.”

Deeney’s admission, on BBC Radio 5 Live, that his team-mates shared the fouls around when trying to stop Palace sorcerer Zaha caused outrage among Eagles fans.

Etienne Capoue was lucky to escape with only a yellow card for a poor challenge on the winger in the Hornets’ 2-1 win last August, and to ensure he did not pick up a second booking Deeney admitted: “You take it in turns kicking him.”