Watford boss Roy Hodgson has urged his side to 'keep the faith' in their battle to stay in the Premier League despite Saturday's 3-0 defeat to Leeds United. The Whites romped home with a comfortable win thanks to goals from Raphinha, Rodrigo and Jack Harrison as they moved nine points clear of the relegation zone.
Meanwhile, the Hornets have now lost their last nine home top-flight games and remain stuck inside the bottom three. They still have an outside chance of staying in the division, though, given that they still have to face Burnley, Brentford and Everton between now and the end of the season.
But Everton's win over Manchester United in the early kick-off has dented Watford's hopes - with Hodgson's side now six points behind having played a game more. However, the 74-year-old is optimistic about their chances of getting out of danger.
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"I don't think the challenge has altered enormously," Hodgson said. "That's a few more points that we could have had that we haven't taken, but there are seven games left - four of them at home - and the players have got to find a way of putting this game behind them.
"They haven't lost by playing particularly badly, they've lost because the other team took their chances and now we have to get back in the right frame of mind for Brentford [next Saturday]."
"The fact is, it is about keeping the faith. When I was at Fulham in 2008, we were quite brilliant at keeping the faith, keeping the belief; both the players and the fans. They were both outstanding, cheering the team on and believing it was still possible even though it quite frankly wasnt.
"With three games left to play, at half-time in the final match, we were actually mathematically relegated, so that is in the mind of myself. So, in terms of us preaching, there is a lot of points still to play for and a lot of work still to be done, that's not going to be a problem for us at all."
