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Watford bare teeth to put the bite on Defoe

Thursday 26 October 2006 00:00 BST
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Watford aim to exploit Jermain Defoe's week of bad publicity when they take on his Tottenham Hotspur side on Saturday.

Defoe has been in the headlines for the wrong reasons since Spurs' win over West Ham last weekend, when television replays appeared to show the England striker biting Javier Mascherano on the arm following a tackle from behind by West Ham's Argentine midfielder.

Watford are still looking for their first win of the season in the Premiership and defender Jay DeMerit insists Adrian Boothroyd's team should make use of any advantage that comes their way.

"It was a negative incident, so to speak, and that is something we can exploit and make to work in our favour," said DeMerit. "If Jermain Defoe carries that anger into Saturday's game, we can use it to our advantage.

"[The biting incident] was one of those mad moments, which everyone seems to have. Hopefully my shoulders will come through unscathed on Saturday."

Although DeMerit claims he is not a talker on the pitch, he believes Watford should make the most of it if Defoe shows another flash of temper at Vicarage Road.

The 24-year-old striker is likely to come under intense scrutiny on Saturday following the incident with Mascherano, and DeMerit is in no mood to show him any mercy.

"If he were to do it to me, I would probably make the most of it, because you have to take advantage of those kinds of things," he said.

"I had heard of biting before only in boxing, when Mike Tyson did it to Evander Holyfield [in June 1997], so it was definitely new for me.

"Sometimes, in crazy moments, people do unpredictable things, and Defoe found himself in one of those last weekend.

"Hopefully, on Saturday, we will upset him for the right reasons, but it will be a big challenge for us defenders, because he is a fantastic player."

DeMerit was part of the Watford side who last night finally claimed their first win of the season in normal time, beating Hull City 2-1 to move into the fourth round of the Carling Cup.

It was the Hornets' first win in open play - they had beaten Accrington Stanley on penalties in the previous round - since they overcame Leeds in the Championship play-off final in May. The long winless run means that Watford are struggling in the Premiership - they are 18th after nine matches - but DeMerit still believes that the victory over Hull could mark a turning point in the club's season.

DeMerit said: "It was important for us to get that win against Hull, and get some confidence back.

"I hope it will lead to our breaking our Premiership duck. We needed a win, and I think that was the main reason the manager played most of the regulars against Hull.

"We needed to get back to winning ways, and we did that. Let's hope we can now carry that into Saturday."

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