Walter Mazzarri has denied talk of any rift between himself and Troy Deeney following the captain's omission from the Watford starting line-up at Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.

Deeney, 28, was a second-half substitute for the Hornets in the 4-0 reverse at White Hart Lane, with Stefano Okaka chosen to start as a lone striker for the second time in a week, having done so against Sunderland the previous Saturday as well.

Deeney was restored against West Brom in between those two games but despite an assist and a goal, had to settle for a place on the bench in north London, fuelling reports in national newspapers he may be ready to quit Vicarage Road in the summer.

Mazzarri explained the thinking behind his team selection at today's pre-match press conference ahead of the visit of Swansea City tomorrow.

He said: "When there are three games in one week, and in the first one where i have two positions in competition - in this case, Okaka and Deeney - I spoke before Sunderland about Deeney’s condition, because he had a problem and could not train for eight days.

"For that game, I decided to choose Okaka because he was able to train every day and was in a good condition. We won, and we played very well as a team, including Okaka.

"Three days later we played against West Brom, and Troy played even though against Sunderland Okaka played very well, because after Sunderland Troy trained very well with the team - and he played very well too. Both games, we played well and won with to different choices.

"The third one against Tottenham, given Okaka had a normal week and given we needed some help defending from the front, he was more fresh. It doesn’t mean Troy wasn’t in good condition, it meant we could start better. I took many things into consideration.

"After many years I know that all the players who don’t play aren’t happy, but that’s ok. The fact they are not happy means they’re very keen to play and are professional - I’m sure it was the same for Okaka, playing against Sunderland and then not against West Brom."