Press conference round-up: Watford

On entering a defining period...

“I think every period is important but this one now with all the teams around us is very important.

"They are six-point games if you want. Wins are massive and losing is also massive. This is a very, very important period until Christmas.”

Building on the Arsenal performance...

“We still have a long way to go until the end of the season. Everybody knows if you want to be above the line at the end then you must start getting points consistently.

"We had a big chance for three against Arsenal and now it’s about taking the next one.

"The next weeks are very important for us. Like the last game against Arsenal, we have to play and we will have a good chance.”

On fundamentals...

“Sure, it would be better if we had won against Arsenal, but I think the belief and a few behaviours we didn’t have are back.

“The players can see if they act like this then they have a better chance of getting something.

“It’s important to focus our energy on the fundamentals and not care too much about the shape or anything else."

On team news...

“We have a few issues. The one is Stuart Armstrong. At the end of the last game, he grabbed his hamstring a little bit and has a little problem with it now. He is not able to play at the weekend and it might be two weeks, but we will have a look.

“Sofiane Boufal hit his toe at home on the table, the big one, and couldn’t train for three days because it’s still a little bit swollen. It will be a little bit difficult for the weekend. It’s broken or anything, it’s just very swollen.

Jannik (Vestergaard) has been ill for two days but is back in training.”

On Danny Ings...

“We discussed today how important it is that we have guys in front who can always score.

“Ingsy, of course, is scoring at the moment. His character and mentality when he doesn’t have the ball is also important for the team.

“Finally, we have a few guys in front who can score and that’s very important for us.”

On winning at home...

“I think for nearly all the away games we were in the lead. It was only Burnley that we were in the back and this helps massively to get something.

“At home, it was completely different. It was very often that we were down immediately and that creates an atmosphere in the stadium that isn’t helpful for anybody - the fans or for us.

“This is what we have to change now, having a better start at home. We speak a lot about this but it’s more important to do it at the weekend."

On Watford...

“They are still a fantastic team with a few good players.

“They changed their shape a little bit and [Troy] Deeney comes back in which gives them another option. He is someone they’ve been missing.

“I think this is still a team that is not easy to beat but we play at home now and we must focus on our game.

“If we do that then it’s not so interesting who is on the other side.”

On home support...

“If you create the first two or three chances the crowd is there, and they will help you.

“If we lose the ball in our own half and the opponent has two chances and scores once then it’s not a surprise that the atmosphere turns.

“It’s about us to put a positive atmosphere back in our stadium and this is the message we must give to the fans.

“We need their help in some moments and to be positive with us even if we make a mistake. When both things happen, we have a bigger chance to have a better atmosphere."

On similarities to last season...

“The points are the same, but we have three more games until December 6th, so there is still some time to go to get more points than we had when I came here.

“The situation is a little bit different and we are working together for one year now and know what we have to do.

“This season so far is not the easiest one because we had a difficult start but there is still a lot of belief in what we are doing, and this gives us the energy to get points as soon as possible.”