Watford manager identifies major 'problem' ahead of Sunderland clash
Watford will hope to put a halt on Sunderland's fine start to the new Championship season.
Watford manager Tom Cleverley believes he has work to do with his younger players as the Hornets prepare for Saturday’s home game with Sunderland.
After winning their first five games of the season, Watford will travel to Wearside on the back of three games without a win and will aim to bounce back from a desperately-disappointing 4-1 defeat at Norwich City on Saturday. After getting off to a poor start as Callum Doyle fired the Canaries in front with just three minutes on the clock, Cleverley’s side got back on level-terms when Ryan Andrews grabbed an equaliser just after the midway point of the first-half at Carrow Road. However, Borja Sainz restored Norwich’s lead in first-half injury-time and they eased to all three points when Marcelino Nunez and Benjamin Chrisene both found the net during the second 45 minutes.
Things won’t get any easier for Cleverley and his players as they prepare to face a Sunderland side that are sat in second place in the Championship table after making it five wins in their first six league games of the season thanks to Saturday’s narrow home win against North East rivals Middlesbrough. Speaking after Saturday’s defeat at Norwich, Watford boss Cleverley pointed to one area that was becoming a major problem as he looked forward to a hectic week with his side’s home clash with Sunderland quickly followed by an away day at Preston North End and a home game with Middlesbrough.
He told the Hornets official website: “Game management is clearly becoming one of our problems. That is where we will start to dissect and try to get better. It is my job to teach some of the less experienced guys what that looks like.
How you start, how you respond to goals just before half-time - we are not managing these situations well enough. I always review where you concede goals, and we try to get better at it, and work harder at it. (Conceding early) is an issue that we all will correct and we will keep working as hard as possible until we do.
“There are nine points up for grabs in seven days (from Sunderland onwards) and we can still have a really positive block of games even after this result today. These are the weeks that really define your season.”