Pearson reveals what will give Watford best chance of survival

Nigel Pearson warned Watford that time is against them as a 3-0 loss to Chelsea sucked them into the relegation battle.

Watford have failed to win any of their four games since the Premier League restarted. Their defeat at Stamford Bridge leaves them lingering one point above the drop zone.

And manager Pearson believes they need to recognise they are in trouble – by replicating their work rate against Chelsea.

“I thought we played with discipline,” he told Sky Sports. “I just said to the players, sometimes it’s hard when you have got players who would normally contribute in a different way, that are having to work hard for the team to make it difficult for opponents.

“Of course, we would like to spend more time on the ball but we played against a good side, who we knew would respond after their last game.

“To concede in the first half was painful because we showed the qualities that were missing last week. It is important for us to now to recognise what is the best chance we have of winning games, and it’s the work ethic we showed tonight. We are having to play our way back into nick.

“Time is not on our side but we have to be brave enough and want the ball. It wasn’t our night and we conceded at times when it takes courage to come back into the game.

“The second half performance was one we can build on.”