WATFORD'S never say die attitude was epitomised by Aidy Boothroyd yesterday morning as he addressed the nation's media in his third press conference in four days - that's the play-offs for you.

The question on everyone's lips of course, was if Watford have got enough to travel to Hull and turn this tie around? Ever the bullish optimist, the Watford manager clearly believed his men have got all that is required and more.

This is mainly thanks to the fact that he saw his side play some attractive attacking football that had Hull on the back foot for large periods of the game. And had fortune favoured Watford on the day, then the scoreline could have been very, very different.

He said: "Anything that could have gone wrong did, we had a goal disallowed early on, then we conceded one, we have one of our big players go off injured and another sent off. I can't think of anything else that could have gone wrong.

"But I'm feeling mixed in terms of how we played and what we did, I thought we caught Hull on the hop and scored a perfectly good goal that wasn't given. I also didn't think it was a sending off and we will be appealing.

"We had two defensive lapses that cost us two goals, but we had a never say die attitude. You've got moments like when Nathan Doyle hit the post when they were 2-0 up already and that might be a turning point, because at 3-0 it's almost impossible, but at 2-0 you've always got a chance.

"The dressing room was a disappointed place until I got in there and told them that the width of that post might make a difference. You just never know. Sport is full of comebacks, we've done it before with only 45 minutes to go and here we find ourselves with 90.

"We've got nothing to lose. We were the underdogs before the tie and we still are. I keep reading that Hull have taken a giant leap towards the Premiership, but they're not there yet."

So now Watford travel north on Wednesday with it all to do, but it IS achievable. Boothroyd admitted that he had a mountain to climb, but revealed he's handy with a pickaxe.

"People will talk about our one win in 14, but that's a negative slant on an unbeaten statistic, [between January and April] we lost two out of 14 so you can flip statistics either way and use them to your advantage, which is what I always do.

"We got into the play-offs and we're not out of them. I know how nervous I was against Crystal Palace two years ago going into our second leg and we had a 3-0 lead, so I can relate that to how they're feeling. We're still in there and I'm quite enjoying this in a strange sort of way.

"I can't lie about our lack of goals, we haven't scored and yet we did on Sunday and it was disallowed. I can't be annoyed with the chances that we created yesterday. Boaz Myhill was outstanding, he's saved one from Jobi McAnuff and one from Mat Sadler, then we had Tamas Priskin go close before another from Jobi and then Tommy Smith.

"What doesn't concern me is our lack of creating. The world of chance goes in your favour sooner or later if you keep doing what you're doing. It only takes that one to come off.

"Our away record is the best in the league, but then again I've been saying for the last week that league form goes out of the window once you're in the play-offs. We've won and lost there up at Hull so we know what it's like to do both, but we've got a different mentality now and we're playing with nothing to lose at all. If we don't win we're out and the season's over, so we're playing to keep our season alive."

Team selection remains to be seen, although the 'Orns were boosted today with the news that captain John Eustace can play after his red card was overturned. Steve Kabba remains a doubt, Darius Henderson returns from his one match ban, but Watford could be without another key player.

"Dan [Shittu] I don't know about yet, he felt a tweak in his hamstring and so we took him off. It doesn't look good. We'll get the results of his scans back and see."

The focus then turned to life in the Premiership, all going well in the next two games and Boothroyd admitted that it's not always possible to sit back and consolidate when you're one of the league's big hitters.

"If we can get up to the Premiership again, then there would have to be wholesale changes and we'd have to make sure we get everything right without killing ourselves financially.

"We can't stay down and consolidate and say that we'll try again next year after having a season of taking stock, because were expected to win now. The punters want better because they think we're a Premiership team and we're not, we're a team who's in the Championship, aiming to be a top ten Premiership club.

"So there's progress, but that's the way the game is. It would be great to just consolidate, but you can't. Most clubs might be happy with that, but if you're successful then you live in the shadow of what you've done before.

"We started the season almost too well and everyone thought the title was a done deal when we went eight points clear. But it's a long arduous season with twists and turns and you come across a different set of problems.

"It's been a good ride so far, but I don't want it to be the end, I want it to continue and for the club, players and me to be successful. We can only do that by exceeding expectation, but the better that you do the higher that expectation goes and the higher the bar goes, so you've just got to keep pushing."