Valérien Ismaël spoke to the media after Watford drew 0-0 with Sheffield Wednesday in the Sky Bet Championship.
Read what the Head Coach had to say below as the points were shared at Hillsborough:
On the result:
The pitch was very difficult, it’s as simple as that. Every time we needed two or three touches to control the ball. In the transition we missed all the time, especially in the second half, the last passes. It was a bumpy pitch and it was very difficult for us.
We take the point. It’s the first clean sheet in two months. It’s a little step but still a step ahead and we’re still in good form away.
We had some good situations to score a goal but I think the mentality was good, the structure was good.
On the busy schedule of games:
It was not a nice game to watch but I think that at the minute you have to take what you can get when you play every few days.
With our schedule you have to be more patient, you have to stay calm and manage your effort to make sure you stay stable. We take the positive side and we have a clean sheet against an opponent who fights for survival, so it’s very difficult to get the points.
Now it’s all about good recovery and we go again on Saturday at home with our fans and on a good pitch.
On Matheus Martins' first-half chance:
The keeper is gone, the ball is bumpy, bumpy, bumpy, you can’t get the ball under control, you are waiting, and in the end it’s difficult to get the ball over the line.
We made some good decisions, sometimes some bad decisions, we made some mistakes. Next time we have to learn to be more ruthless on this kind of pitch.
On Mattie Pollock:
We need everyone. I said many months ago when I came that we need everyone. We want to be focused, at some point the chance [for players] will come.
For some players the chance comes quickly, for some it comes later and now he’s [Pollock] got his chance to show his quality. I think he was very solid and ruthless in the duels.
On subbing Martins and Pollock while on yellow cards:
You have to manage that and be careful as if you go down to 10 men it will be difficult to get back into the game.
[You need to] avoid the crowd putting pressure on our players and the referee.
