Watford manager Marco Silva insists he is happy at Vicarage Road despite Everton rumours

Watford manager Marco Silva has insisted his future lies at Vicarage Road, ruling himself out of the race to become Everton 's next manager at least temporarily.

The Portuguese became the Hornets' ninth manager in five years when he signed a two-year deal in the summer to replace Walter Mazzarri and his arrival has revolutionised Watford, who sit sixth in the Premier League table, just a point away from fourth spot.

Silva's impact on the Hornets and his impressive stint at Hull last season, when the Tigers almost avoided relegation after his arrival in January, have seen him linked with a host of Premier League jobs.

The 40-year-old is some bookmakers' third-favourite to replace Ronald Koeman at Everton, who sacked the Dutchman on Monday (23 October) after a disastrous start to the season. But Silva has since moved to quash rumours he could swap Watford for the blue half of Merseyside.

"I'm happy with the way we play, I'm happy that we compete in every match in our style, so why change?," he was quoted as saying by the Mirror.

"I'm still here, since the first day I have been 100% focused in my job, and my focus remains in the club and our next match.

"What I expect, and what I want, is to honour my obligation to work hard, to prepare for the Stoke game in the right way and not to lose our focus for a really hard match."

Meanwhile, the Watford manager has heaped praise on right-back Kiko Femenia, who has hit the ground running since joining from Spanish club Alaves in the summer. The 26-year-old has featured in eight of the Hornest' nine league games so far, starting seven of them and has become an integral part of Silva's team.

"I am happy he adapted really fast to our way and philosophy, even though he is not a tall player and not too strong in some moments of the match," Silva was quoted as saying by the Watford Observer.

"He is a smart boy and understands what I want in our defensive organisation as well. In my style of play, he is a player who can support in our attacking style."

Watford host Stoke City on Saturday (28 October), looking to bounce back from last weekend's 4-2 defeat against Chelsea. The Hornets led the champions 2-1 going into the final third of the game at Stamford Bridge, before two goals from Michy Batshuayi and one from Cesar Azpilicueta secured the three points for the west Londoners.

Silva's men will be hoping their current form proves to be enough to improve their record against Stoke, against whom they have lost their last three league meetings, with two of those defeats coming at Vicarage Road.