WATFORD skipper Troy Deeney has stuck to his guns over comments he made about Wolves’ Raul Jiminez and his infamous wrestling mask celebration.
The Wolves striker riled Deeney during their recent FA Cup semi-final clash by donning a mask to celebrate putting his side 2-0 up at Wembley.
Watford battled back to take a stunning 3-2 victory after extra time, with Deeney angering Wolves fans as he labelled Jiminez a “loser” after the final whistle.
He said: "I’m glad he put that mask on – he could wear it out now as well, now he’s a loser. So, enjoy the mask – we got the victory.”
The two sides meet again in Saturday’s Premier League grudge match and Deeney has used his programme notes to double down on his assessment of Jiminez’s stunt.
He wrote: "I got a lot of stick after the semi-final for giving some honest comments about things from a professional football player's perspective.
"My take is always the same. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Social media has allowed literally everyone to voice that opinion whenever they like.
"What I said about the mask stuff I stand by, and it was interesting to hear a few others give their take on it. Not all of them agreed with me, and that's good for football.
"And when I have an opinion, often there's a camera pointed at me. You don't need to agree with me, but I always ask everyone to respect everyone's right to that opinion and give voice to it.”
SIDELINED
Deeney is suspended for the clash at Vicarage Road after he was sent off in Watford’s recent defeat by Arsenal.
And while he remains dismissive of veiled celebrations, the 30-year-old has used his time on the sidelines to reflect on Wolves’ success this season.
The Molineux club have enjoyed a stunning return to the Premier League after promotion last season and currently sit in seventh, one point ahead of Watford.
Deeney wrote: "I think Wolves have had a fantastic season to this point. I've got a lot of time for how they've gone about it.
“They haven't stuck to the usual methods, if you can say it that way, that people expect you to do, so they've wanted to do things how they see it and they don't seem to have changed their approach that much from last season.
"It's to their credit that the methods they had in place have allowed them to slot in new lads alongside lads there from before and find a winning formula more often than not.”
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