Troy Deeney has heaped praised on the impact Nigel Pearson has made since taking over at Watford, saying he is the first manager to treat him like a man since Sean Dyche was in charge.
The Hornets were 10 points from safety when the 56-year-old took over but are now one point above the relegation zone after taking a remarkable 13 points from a possible 18.
Pundits and journalists alike have attributed Pearson's old school approach as the reason for Watford's re-invigoration on the pitch, but Deeney believes it is much more down to the relationships he has struck with each player in his short time as manager.
'That's doing him a disservice', he told BT Sport. 'His views are more based on people than a certain style.
'There's not one person that hasn't improved since he's been here. I like the fact he made everyone part of this, no nonsense. He's a manager.'
A key to their upturn in form has been the return from injury of striker and captain Deeney, who appears to be refreshed by the former Leicester boss' management style of treating him like a man for the first time since Sean Dyche was in charge in 2012.
'He's been fantastic for me, he's treated me like a man for probably the first time since Sean Dyche… full trust, in terms of "I'm going to tell you the truth".
The club have had an incredible 12 managers since the now-Burnley boss left the club, and Deeney feels while many were tactically good managers, Pearson is the first since then to treat him in the way he best responds to.
'We've had coaches, really good coaches who work well on the grass, but sometimes you need that straight forward manager that's going to oversee everything at the club.'
Pearson is the Hertfordshire club's third manager of the season after sacking Javi Gracia in September and replacing him with former boss Quique Sanchez Flores, who himself lost his job in December with the club bottom after just one win in 10 games.
Deeney has scored four goals in five games but was injured for much of Flores' unfortunate tenure, and the striker questioned whether the Spaniard was the right appointment for the position they were in.
'Was it the right decision? You would have to say no after what happened. We probably lost ten games out of nostalgia, we were rock bottom.
'We're massively underachieving this year, but you could argue we're on the right track now. Who knows where we could end up?'
Watford hope to continue their march away from the relegation zone against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, with a win giving them a chance to move up to 14th in the table.
