Javi Gracia wants to achieve something special with Watford this season after reaching the 40 point mark before the end of February.

The Hornets' head coach insists that if his side can keep playing as well as they did in their 5-1 win over Cardiff City there could be something more than just Premier League survival waiting at the end of the season.

He said: "I’m happy with my players, with the way they are playing.

"We are competing in all the games with this mentality and with this ambition and we can achieve something different this season.

"We have at the moment, 40 points, but that’s in the past. Now we want to keep our level until the end, in the Premier League and in the FA Cup as well, and try to achieve something special."

Gerard Deulofeu scored a hat-trick on a night when the Hornets were clinical in front of goal and Gracia said that finishing like that could make all the difference.

He said: "There was four games before I think when I showed that we are the team with most clear chances missed and then we were creating chances.

"Today Gerard had two one-v-one with the keeper and scored, in other games maybe he didn’t.

"It’s the difference in between one game and others. I’m very proud of all my players because, as I said, all of them are showing their quality, their commitment and I’m very happy for the supporters."

Gracia praised the former Barcelona man for his work during the game and said his all round play was good news for the team and not just the goals.

He said: "He played really well today, scored three goals, but not only that, in my opinion he was very generous to assist as well, after scoring goals.

"All these details are important for the team because after seeing it, I can feel all the players are in the same direction all are helping each other and I think it’s very good news for us."