Neil Warnock backs Watford to gain promotion after draw with Middlesbrough

The Hornets, who led courtesy of Ismaila Sarr’s controversial 32nd-minute opener, remain second and well clear of Brentford and Swansea below them despite failing to chalk up a seventh win in a row.

Boro levelled with 12 minutes remaining when substitute Yannick Bolasie, on loan from Everton, nodded in his first goal in English football since October 2018.

Warnock, whose side have slipped out of the play-off picture of late, has celebrated promotion eight times during his career and feels Watford are well placed to finish off the job this season.

“I think these two will walk it,” he said of Watford and league leaders Norwich.

“Two of the best in the league. I don’t see many of the other teams winning five or six games, so everyone else is fighting for the play-offs really.

“Watford are absolutely flying, six games on the trot before today. We had to play as if we were going away from home, structurally we were proper.

“It might have looked negative but they’d have passed through us.

“We tried to catch them on the break as much as we could.”

Warnock was happy with Boro’s point and their performance.

“Yannick was coming over to take the free-kick and I told him to get in the box and he scores. There were a lot of pluses today. We could easily have won the game in the end.”

Boro midfielder Sam Morsy was forced off after half an hour following a strong challenge from Nathaniel Chalobah, who was cautioned. Warnock, who felt there was a handball by Philip Zinckernagel in the build-up to Watford’s goal, added: “The goal did us a bit. We thought handball.

“Sam’s injury, he is out for the season, he has done his medial ligament, we don’t know how bad but he is out for the season.

“In a VAR situation I think the Sam Morsy one might have been different – he has got two feet off the ground.

“They are the worst ones with studs.”

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