Watford began life under new head coach Slaven Bilic with an emphatic 4-0 victory at Stoke, a result that sees the Hornets rise to seventh in the Championship table.
After replacing Rob Edwards who was sacked earlier this week, Bilic got off to the perfect start when Ismaila Sarr’s close-range header gave Watford the lead in the 12th minute.
Stoke occasionally threatened but the visitors remained comfortable throughout and doubled their advantage after half-time when Ken Sema bundled the ball over the line following some poor defending from the hosts (64).
Watford put the result beyond any doubt when Keinan Davis fired in to make it 3-0 on 78 minutes before substitute Vakoun Issouf Bayo added some late gloss to the scoreline when he tapped in at the far post (84)
It was Watford’s first away league win of the season and puts them one point off the play-off places. Stoke drop to 17th.