Adrian Mariappa apologises for Manchester City mauling

Adrian Mariappa has publicly apologised to Watford supporters following the club's mauling at the hands of Manchester City on Saturday.

Five goals inside the opening 18 minutes laid the platform for a miserable afternoon for Watford, with the game ending 8-0.

The result leaves Watford, still without a win this season, rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table after six games.

Mariappa, who was captain for the day in the absence of Troy Deeney, told the Evening Standard: "There's no excuse for our performance today.

"All I can do is apologise to the fans that travelled up. At the end of the game they were all applauding us. It was a bad performance from us and all we can do is try and put it right on Tuesday and in the weeks coming.

"We've been through bad runs before and come out the other side, so we're going to have to show our togetherness and character in this run that we're on but I've got full faith that we will do that."

Watford were playing just their second game following the reappointment of Quique Flores, who spent the 2015-16 season at Vicarage Road.

The Hornets meet Swansea City in the EFL Cup on Tuesday ahead of resuming Premier League action against fellow strugglers Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.