Rob Edwards was frustrated with a sluggish start against Rotherham United which saw the Hornets go a goal down in the opening exchanges before eventually equalising through Vakoun Bayo in a 1-1 draw at the New York Stadium.
In the fourth successive away draw of the campaign, Watford had opportunities to take the lead but were ultimately unable to make them count against a well-drilled Rotherham side.
The Head Coach felt Watford could have done more to control the encounter in the early stages and it’s something they will have to improve on.
“I’m feeling frustrated,” Edwards began. “The first 20 minutes weren’t good enough today and we’ve talked about that in the dressing room. We started too slow and the goal was obviously not good enough. I don’t think we competed well enough during the first 20 minutes.
“They’re good at what they do, they’re direct, they do well when battling for second balls. They get the ball in the box and we allowed them to win too many second balls, to create havoc with long throws and make us defend, and we couldn’t quite get a hold of the game in the first 20 to 25 minutes.
“We began to grow into it and get control and fight our way in - we scored a fantastic equaliser and then huffed and puffed. We had a couple of big chances and hit the woodwork, but then after around 70 minutes we kept going, but couldn’t quite work the goalkeeper enough.
“We conceded after four minutes on Tuesday and early again today. It’s not good enough and it’s something we’ve got to improve on.”
Edwards was pleased with the contribution from his attacking talent against the Millers, with João Pedro, Bayo, Yáser Asprilla and substitute Keinan Davis linking up throughout the fixture.
As injured players begin to return to the squad and others gain match fitness, the Head Coach recognises that the pool of talent will only continue to strengthen.
He said: “I’m delighted to have Keinan [Davis] back amongst it. I think he looked sharp, and he’ll continue to get better. He’s going to help us, no doubt about it. João Pedro has had moments of quality and he worked incredibly hard for all of us.
“Bayo got his goal and I thought Yáser [Asprilla] did very well again. He’s such a young player and continues to improve and impress. While we get bodies back it’ll allow us to look after him a bit more.
“We’re asking a lot of him at the moment because it’s been a really intense period of games, and we’ve been asking a lot of a young 18-year-old who has just come into the country and to settle into Championship football - I think he’s done unbelievably well. Having some players back to help us will only make us stronger.”
With no midweek fixture, Edwards believes the rest will be beneficial for his squad heading into next weekend’s home match against Reading (September 10, 3pm KO).
“We need a bit of a rest and a couple of days to recover and recuperate,” he added. “We’ve got a few who are feeling knocks, so we’re trying hard to get everyone back as quickly as possible.
“We need to keep improving, and now the transfer window has closed we can really get back to work with the group we know we’re going to have now for the next few months.”
