Watford captain Troy Deeney has denied reports of a fight in the Hornets’ dressing room during half-time in Friday’s 3-1 defeat at West Ham.

The Hornets sacked Nigel Pearson on Sunday and are one place and three points above the relegation zone before hosting Manchester City on Tuesday.

“The gaffer didn’t put his hands on anybody, he was just frustrated and had a firm talking to us,” Deeney said.

“No-one was fighting, no-one was punched. There were no hands thrown.”

Deeney, 32, who joined Watford from Walsall in 2010, admitted he was not expecting the decision to sack Pearson – Watford’s third permanent manager of the campaign after Javi Gracia and Quique Sanchez Flores.

“You get to a point in football where you are not surprised any more, but I would say this one surprised me and took me back a bit,” the striker told beIN Sports.

Hayden Mullins and head of goalkeeping Graham Stack will take charge of Watford against City and Deeney denied he will have any involvement in team selection.

“Troy will not be picking teams because I have read that as well,” Deeney said. “I am player-coach apparently.

“Anything else I have missed out? We have to respect the decision and give all the support you can to good people in Hayden and Stacky.”

Mullins, 41, who remained part of the first-team set-up under Pearson, having previously coached Watford’s Under-23 side, reinforced Deeney’s version of events, saying: “The boys expected to get a dressing down at 3-0.”

He explained that the Watford players emerged from their half-time team-talk early as “they knew the first half was not up to standard we were used to and they wanted to try and put it right. The reports of Nigel being over-aggressive with the players were not true.”