No one needs to remind Watford of their problems, asserts Nigel Pearson
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Newly appointed Watford manager Nigel Pearson has urged everyone not to remind his team of their situation as everyone at the club already knows where they stand. The Hornets are struggling and are currently at the bottom of the Premier League managing just one victory in 17 games so far.
Nigel Pearson says there is no point putting "even greater anxiety" on the Watford players by reminding them of their predicament in the Premier League. Watford are bottom of the league after taking nine points from their first 17 games and only nine times in Premier League history has a team had that amount of points or fewer at this stage of the season and each of those teams ended up relegated.Â
However, the Hornets have already sacked two managers with Quique Sanchez Flores replacing Javi Garcia before Sanchez was relieved of his duties and former Nigel Pearson was given the managerial role at Vicarage Road. Pearson’s first game in charge yielded no better fortunes as they fell 2-0 to league leaders Liverpool at Anfield and the ex-Hull City manager has said that it would be fruitless to constantly remind the players about the mountain they have to climb.
“There's no point in me trying to paint a picture that's not realistic. We're fully aware of the danger that we are in and the precarious nature of our status being under even more threat if we don't rectify the situation sooner rather than later. But now's not a time for myself or anybody at the football club to do anything other than keep a calm outlook on how we navigate our way through this situation,” said Pearson to the Sky Sports.
"Other people can speculate as to what may happen if we don't win on Sunday or at Sheffield United. Clearly the more games that you play that you don't win then it becomes harder. There is an urgency for us to rectify things, but it's not a case of putting people into an even greater level of anxiety by pointing out the obvious."
Pearson was instrumental in engineering Leicester City’s survival in the top-flight in 2015 when they won 9 of their last 10 games to prevent relegation. There’s hope that he can achieve the same with Hornets and propel them to safety. Watford welcome Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men to Vicarage Road on Sunday before taking on Sheffield United on Christmas eve. Pearson admitted that a victory against the Red Devils will boost everyone’s confidence.
“It could certainly ignite a bit of belief, but I don't want to build one game up as being the foundation or being the end point. There are mathematical possibilities. That is always something which allows you to keep working in the most positive way, but let's be absolutely honest; of course we know that it's 'sooner rather than later. It would be a big scalp for us as well. First and foremost, we will be trying to win the game,” concluded the 56 year old.
