Watford’s all-action striker Stefano Okaka given dressing down by boss Walter Mazzarri… for trying TOO hard
Vicarage Road manager Mazzarri forced to tell his no-nonsense Italian star: Stop trying so hard
WATFORD boss Walter Mazzarri is ordering all-action striker Stefano Okaka: Stop trying so hard.
Bustling six-footer Okaka scared the daylights out of West Ham on his debut in a 4-2 win at the London Stadium in September.
He had a good-looking goal disallowed — then ended up with a hamstring injury.
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That kept him out until November and he has since hit form with two goals against Everton just over a fortnight ago, only to end up with another knock. Okaka, 27, arrived at Vicarage Road from Anderlecht two days before this year’s summer window closed.
And fellow-Italian Mazzarri said: “His problem was that he didn’t do a pre-season with the whole squad.
“Against West Ham in his first game he gave more than 110 per cent. He was very wholehearted and went over his limit.
“He’s a player who does this and I have to be the one who has to look at him very carefully and follow him very carefully in training.
“Okaka is very generous in his efforts for the team and against Everton it was the same.
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“We were 3-1 up, he was very tired and he made the last run down the wing. That was when he got injured.
“Now that I know him, I have to be careful.
“Because when he’s playing and I’m at pitchside, I always ask him if he can carry on and he will always say that he’s perfect and he wants to continue.
“But now I’ll have to take the decision by looking at him because of the character he is.
“He will always tell you he wants to keep going.”
Okaka, who played for Italy at Euro 2016, is expected to be back in the squad to face Palace today as Mazzarri bids to end 2016 with a win ahead of Tottenham’s visit on New Year’s Day.
The head coach, who took over from Quique Flores in the summer, has guided Watford to a respectable 12th position.
But he added: “The only thing I’m slightly disappointed about is that we have not got enough points. Other than that I’m very, very happy.
“We are missing four or five points that we deserved.
“We have lost games when we should have drawn or won them.”