Watford should be wary of Chelsea, says Ake

REUTERS – Watford should not get carried away with their recent strong run and be on their toes when they travel to Stamford Bridge to take on champions Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday, defender Nathan Ake has said.

The Hornets have won their last four league games and that form has propelled them to seventh in the table just a point off the European spots.

“This season has been crazy. Our position is deserved because we’re playing well, we’ve worked really hard to be here and we just have to keep going,” Ake, who scored his first senior goal in Sunday’s 3-0 win over Liverpool, told British media.

“We’ve got a lot of confidence now but we can’t get too much confidence and play easy, like we’re a bigger team.

“I think Chelsea are still Chelsea, they’re a top team. We’re still on the bottom, and need to play like that as well.”

Ake agreed to a season-long loan spell with the Hornets in the close-season due to lack of first-team opportunities with parent club Chelsea, who are languishing at 15th spot.

The 20-year-old believes a change of manager at Chelsea, after Guus Hiddink took over from Jose Mourinho, will not see his loan spell cut short.

“I don’t think that because the manager changes, suddenly I have a chance to play. I think it’s just a matter of yourself, how you’re playing, how you develop, and if you’re able to come back next season and perform,” Ake said.

“I just try to play my game and develop myself, I think that’s the most important thing. I’m playing well now but you need to do the whole season, not just a couple of games. I need to develop and then we’ll see next year.

“Of course, I’m happy here because I play every time, and I think that’s going to be the case if I stay here. I think I’ll still be here in February.”

(Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)