Watford manager Javi Gracia issued a blunt message to his players following Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Millwall at Vicarage Road: start delivering on the potential he sees daily in training, or the rewards will never come.
Despite an improved performances in recent weeks, the Hornets have taken just eight points from their last eight Championship matches – a run that has left them hovering in mid-table rather than challenging for automatic promotion.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, the Spaniard did not hide his frustration at seeing his side dominate possession, create the clearer chances, yet fail to secure all three points for the fourth consecutive home game.
“We are showing in many moments that we have the quality, the personality and the ambition to control games against any opponent in this league,” Gracia said. “But football is not about playing well for 70 minutes or having 65% possession. It is about winning matches. Right now, we are not doing that often enough.
“I tell the players every day: potential means nothing if you don’t deliver. We have to start earning the rewards for the good things we are doing. If we keep playing at this level but only draw or lose, then we are not a good team – we are a team that flatters to deceive.”
The draw against Neil Harris’s well-organised Millwall side followed a similar pattern to recent weeks. Watford dictated play for long periods, registered 18 attempts on goal and forced Millwall goalkeeper Matija Šarkić into several smart saves, yet found themselves behind to a 63rd-minute Zian Flemming penalty after a contentious handball decision against Ryan Porteous.
Substitute Mileta Rajović’s 85th-minute header rescued a point, but it was not enough to satisfy a restless Vicarage Road crowd who booed at full-time for the second home match running.
Gracia refused to blame individuals publicly but made it clear that the margin for error in the Championship is microscopic.
“In this league, if you switch off for one second, you are punished,” he continued. “We conceded from a set-piece situation that we had worked on all week. That is not bad luck – that is not being concentrated for 95 minutes. We can dominate, we can create twenty chances, but if we make one mistake and don’t take our own opportunities, we get one point or zero.
“That is the reality we have to accept and change.”
The 54-year-old’s frustration is all the more acute because he believes the squad he inherited in the summer is capable of far more than its current 12th-place standing suggests. Since his arrival, Watford have shown clear signs of tactical coherence: a higher pressing line, quicker transitions and more fluidity in the final third than under previous regimes.
Players such as Edo Kayembe, Giorgi Chakvetadze and the returning Imran Louza have all raised their levels, while new signings Rocco Vata and Jonathan Bond have settled quickly. Yet the same issues – defensive lapses at crucial moments and profligacy in attack – continue to undermine progress.
Captain Wesley Hoedt echoed his manager’s sentiments in the mixed zone afterwards.
“The gaffer is right,” the Dutch defender admitted. “We are doing a lot of good things but we are not ruthless enough. In the Championship you don’t get ten chances every game – sometimes you get two or three and you have to score. We have to be more clinical and we have to be stronger mentally when things don’t go our way.”
Gracia now faces a pivotal December fixture list that includes tricky away trips to Sheffield United and Burnley, plus home games against promotion contenders Sunderland and Middlesbrough. With the busy festive period looming, the former Valencia and Leeds boss knows results must improve rapidly if Watford are to remain in the play-off conversation.
Privately, sources close to the dressing room say Gracia has been even more forthright behind closed doors, telling players in no uncertain terms that “good performances without points are worthless” and that those who cannot handle the pressure of performing under expectation brings will not survive in his team long-term.
Whether that hard-line approach yields immediate dividends remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: the honeymoon period is over. Gracia has laid down the gauntlet to a talented but underperforming squad – deliver consistent results, or the potential he speaks of will remain exactly that.
For a club with Watford’s resources and ambition, mid-table mediocrity is no longer acceptable. The next few weeks will reveal whether this group has the character to match its undoubted ability. As Javi Gracia made abundantly clear on Saturday evening, the time for excuses is over.