With Watford and AFC Bournemouth sitting sixth and seventh respectively in the Premier League many have billed Saturday’s meeting as a “best of the rest” clash.

It is a tag Watford head coach Javi Gracia has little interest in paying attention to as he prepares his side to host a side below them on goal difference alone.

Gracia, with tongue firmly lodged in cheek, instead believes Watford have the quality to be the best team in the league and reiterated his desire to win every game this season.

He jokingly said: “For me, Watford is the best not the best of the rest. We will try to be the best of all and win all the games we play in.

“At the end of the season we will see where we are and we want to be not only the best of the rest. The champion? We’ll try.”

Gracia takes his Watford side into Saturday’s game on the back of their first mini wobble of the season after a run of three league games without a win.

That sequence of results has not seen a drop off in performance and Watford could easily have beaten Fulham and Arsenal had their finishing been better.

With this in mind, Gracia feels there is no reason to panic and believes his side are still operating at a high level.

“I think our feeling that we are doing well is shown in the stats as well. We feel we are doing a good job and it is not only about the results,” he said.

“We have put in good performances whether we are winning, losing or drawing. We need to try and improve the little details and we will get good results.”