Daniel Bachmann says the Hornets will use the pain of defeat to Luton Town and re-focus on the task ahead with just four games remaining in the quest for automatic promotion.
Saturday’s result at Kenilworth Road was Watford’s first loss in nine games and they still sit six points clear of third-placed Swansea City going into Tuesday’s trip to league leaders Norwich City, who secured promotion at the weekend.
“We know we were well below our levels [at Luton],” said the goalkeeper. “We’ve been on a great run, which unfortunately had to come to an end at some point, but it definitely hurts.
“Every derby defeat hurts and this probably hurt a little bit more because of the manner in which we lost, knowing we just didn’t perform well. We know as a team that it wasn’t good enough and that we’ll need to be a lot better on Tuesday.
“We have to hold our hands up and move on because it’s gone now. The bigger picture for us is promotion and we’ve got a big game against Norwich, so trying to win that is what we’ve got to focus on now.”
A place in next season’s Premier League may already be confirmed for Norwich, but Daniel Farke’s side know victory over Watford would clinch the Championship title. The Canaries’ defeat to Bournemouth last time out was their first in 14 league matches, however the Hornets have won their last three meetings with the East Anglia outfit, including a 1-0 victory in Xisco Muñoz’s first game on Boxing Day.
“It doesn’t matter at this stage of the season who we play against,” said Bachmann. “Every game is tough now, regardless of the league position of the opponent. We know that we need to focus on ourselves. They’re already promoted and we hope to follow them as soon as possible.
“Our record over the last couple of years against Norwich is pretty good and there’s no reason why that should change. They’re a good team but we are too and we’re going there to beat them.
“It’s going to be a completely different game to Saturday. It’ll be a footballing game, so it’ll be good to watch and we need to make sure we’re at it from the first second. We’ve got to go for it and make sure we get the three points.”
Bachmann has kept an impressive 11 clean sheets in his 20 league games this season, and the Hornets’ overall tally of 20 has only been bettered twice in club history, with 25 shut outs in 1968/69 and 22 in 1996/97. Watford have also conceded fewer away goals than any other side in the Championship this season, letting in just 16 in 21 games.
“It’s a nice stat to have, but the main thing is just to win the games. If you do it with keeping a clean sheet, that’s even better for me and for the defence,” said the Austrian.
“I’m just glad I’ve been able to help the team from the moment I stepped on the pitch in January. It’s been going well since then and hopefully we can do it four more times. At this stage of the season, it’s just about getting over the line and getting promotion secured.”
Hive Live: Norwich City v Watford
There'll be more from Daniel Bachmann, as well as punditry from Hall of Famer Paul Robinson, during the free-to-view pre-match show from 5pm on Tuesday. Find out more and secure your pass for Norwich City v Watford HERE.
