‘We’ll get more out of Mauro’

WALTER MAZZARRI says he can succeed where other managers have failed by taming new signing Mauro Zarate.

Watford offered Argentine Zarate, above, another crack in the Premier League despite the 29-year-old striker failing to impress in stints with Birmingham, West Ham and QPR.

He has also had spells with Lazio, Inter Milan and Fiorentina.

But Mazzarri has not been put off by Zarate’s chequered past and says the key to bringing out the best in his new £2million recruit is to show him some love.

Watford host Burnley today and Mazzarri said: “In Zarate’s career he has done very well when he has found himself in a comfortable situation.

“He is a person, given his character, that he needs to feel the confidence and backing of everyone.

“It’s not a matter of him playing in England or Italy as in Italy he was at some clubs when he did well and sometimes not so well.”

George Boyd is convinced Burnley can hit the heights under the manager Watford didn’t want. Sean Dyche returns to his former club with Burnley in 10th spot and having broken the club’s transfer record for the third time in six months with the £13million capture of Robbie Brady from Norwich on deadline day. Winger Boyd said: “That just shows how far the club has come.

“There’s the new training ground, the players we’re attracting, the FA Cup run...it’s a club going places.

“The target is always 40 points so we can’t really say we’re safe yet and we’ll keep going. But we’re looking up, not down, even if we’d have taken 17th at the start of the season.

“We’ve taken huge strides and the gaffer should take a lot of the credit. It was weird how he left Watford. Hopefully, he’ll want to go back and show them.”

Dyche’s side have still to win away. Boyd added: “It doesn’t matter too much, we’re 10th, but we want to get the monkey off our back. Going by performances lately it’s only a matter of time before we do.”