Valérien Ismaël spoke to watfordfc.com after the Hornets' 2-1 defeat at home to Huddersfield Town in the Sky Bet Championship.
Read what the Head Coach had to say below...
On the early substitutions:
I understand completely the frustration for our fans after 20 minutes. We tried straight away to have another impact in the game but actually I would have changed all the players after 20 minutes. It’s difficult to explain because that was not the gameplan. We wanted to do it well.
As I said before the game, we have had a chance to get 21 points at home and only got two. This is the gap we are missing. At the end of the day, it was not enough but I am accountable as the coach for the performance. The players are responsible for their own performance and today I think everyone missed doing the right thing.
On trying to turn around the slow start:
Sometimes you cannot explain. You are standing on the sideline, and you see exactly what you have to do to change the rhythm. Nobody wanted to take responsibility with the ball and you don’t want to make a mistake, but you make the mistake anyway, and then the momentum for the opponent builds.
We slightly improved in the second half, scoring the first goal, and after that we concede two poor goals. One from a throw-in and after that we couldn’t concentrate. I think today is just the mental side because it’s not technical or physical. We had the chance to step up, but we didn’t make it.
On Huddersfield’s comeback:
It’s a difficult game and it’s tough but we took the lead. We needed to be ruthless to finish the job and at the end we can discuss the performance - we would have the three points, and everyone is half happy. But today there was no performance, no result so everyone is frustrated, and I understand that.
On bouncing back:
We need to re-focus straight away; we have a tough game next week at Millwall. It’s about us picking the players who have the right mentality for the game.
I understand the fans in the stands today. I expected more, the fans expected more, and the players themselves wanted more. At the end of the day, it was not enough, and we accept getting criticised by the fans.
On the players’ contribution:
I think they were playing for themselves. They are playing for the club and the fans and that is the most important thing that we need to see. As I say, there is a mental side and it was everyone at the same time.
On Emmanuel Dennis’ substitution:
Dennis has a groin issue, so we need to assess him.
On Jamal Lewis’ substitution:
He has been complaining for two days about a little bit of muscle soreness, so we were careful with him today.
