Roy Hodgson delivers surprise Watford verdict following Manchester United draw

Watford manager Roy Hodgson felt his side deserved a point after holding their own "exceptionally well" in their goalless draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.

The Hornets, who had beaten United 4-1 in the reverse fixture at Vicarage Road back in November, found themselves under a barrage of attacks, especially in the first half, for most of the afternoon and on another day could have been heavily beaten.

But thanks to goalkeeper Ben Foster and some wasteful finishing from Ralf Rangnick's side, they held on to secure a point in their quest to avoid immediate relegation back to the Championship.

Despite being second best all afternoon, and failing to lay a glove on United in the final third, Hodgson believed his side deserved a point for their hard work and heroic defensive efforts.

"It was always going to be hard fought for teams like ourselves here," said Hodgson, who has won just once since taking charge last month. "We held our own exceptionally well. I wasn't thinking they were going to score every time they had the ball.

"We should be fighting for our lives on the pitch. The attitude of the team was outstanding. It would've been nice to have shown more composure on the break but that's hard to do in our position.

"Once or twice, we got into great positions and perhaps that first decision let us down a little.

"The players should be proud of their performance. I didn't see players leaping around afterwards celebrating, which shows me they've got high standards. We grafted so well, well enough to deserve a point I thought."

Hailing goalkeeper Foster for his performance, Hodgson continued: "We always thought if we could defend as well as we did, we might get a chance or two.

"They