Quique Sanchez Flores: Etienne Capoue has earned his Spurs at Watford
Etienne Capoue has put his Tottenham nightmare behind him, according to Watford boss Quique Sanchez Flores.
The midfielder was one of seven signings Spurs brought in with the money they received for Gareth Bale's world-record switch to Real Madrid in 2013.
But Capoue failed to hold down a first-team spot at White Hart Lane and made just 24 Barclays Premier League appearances in two years before Watford rescued him in the summer.
The 27-year-old Frenchman comes up against his old club at Vicarage Road on Monday but Sanchez Flores insisted: "He's not thinking about Tottenham.
"He's completely happy at Watford. When we talk about football we talk about Watford. We talk about his performances this year.
"He's a new player today which is very good news for us, to incorporate this type of player. It's amazing to observe that this player is going to play football, to organise, to stop players, for us it is good."
Capoue impressed again as Watford grabbed a 2-2 draw at Chelsea on Boxing Day, and the in-form Hornets are now looking for a fifth win in six games which would put them level with fourth-placed Spurs.
Their rise up the table may have surprised the neutrals, but not Sanchez Flores or his players.
"We are always thinking we can win," he added. "We train thinking that we can win. That is our mentality.
"I am really happy because I am not surprised, and the squad is not surprised, when we draw at Chelsea.
"Maybe some players are a little bit angry to only draw as they feel in the second half we had opportunities, so my job now is to say to them 'it was a good result, Chelsea have really good players' and try to give value to the draw.
"We just need to think about the next match. We are not planning a lot about the next month. We had a positive result at Chelsea but we have to play again.
"We don't have other competitions, like the big clubs, so our main target is clear and that is a help."
On-loan Chelsea full-back Nathan Ake returns to the squad after he was ineligible to face his parent club at Stamford Bridge.
Harry Kane scored twice and Tom Carroll added a third on Boxing Day as Tottenham beat Norwich 3-0 to move three points clear of stuttering Manchester United in the race for the Champions League.
It means Mauricio Pochettino's side have registered back-to-back wins since their shock defeat at home to Newcastle two weeks ago and they now turn their attention to Monday's match at Vicarage Road.
"We can now say it was an accident against Newcastle - we're very pleased with the reaction," Pochettino said.
"We should not forget we are the youngest team in the Premier League but we show consistency and maturity every week.
"The last 15 minutes against Newcastle were very difficult for us and we lost the game, but you can improve from defeat.
"Watford will be a different challenge. They have had fantastic results so far and we expect a very tough game.
"Watford are a very strong team, they usually play 4-4-2 and we'll see how they play against us.
"We don't have much time to prepare but we know them and they know us."
Pochettino will make a late decision on Mousa Dembele's fitness after the midfielder took a knock to his ankle but Ryan Mason is regaining fitness following an ankle problem of his own and could feature.
Clinton Njie (knee) and Alex Pritchard (ankle) are both out.
Source: PAR
