RYAN Bertrand’s paid tribute to Watford ace Troy Deeney ahead of this afternoon’s match with the Hornets.

Deeney has been a strong advocate behind the scenes to get the Premier League to support the Black Lives Matter movement.

This led to his partner, Alisha Hosannah, designing the logo currently adorned on the players’ shirts.

And Bertrand, who has been battling for racial equality throughout his career, is grateful for the work Deeney has been doing with the Professional Footballers’ Association and the Premier League.

“I think he’s been doing most of the negotiating between the PFA and the Premier League and I think he’s done a great job,” Bertrand said.

“I think we’ve shown great solidarity between everyone with what we did on the first day of the season with the badges to raise awareness.

“That was a great first step and we need to keep it going.”

Although Bertrand’s full of praise for Deeney’s work off the pitch, Saints’ defender is determined to beat the striker’s side on it, especially after losing to Arsenal.

Bertrand added: “It’s going to be a tough challenge because they’ve done well enough to pull away slightly.

“But we still want to get many wins on the board and they are fighting for survival, so it will be a welcome test again. 

“But it’s one that we are relishing as we want to get back to winning ways.”