close
close

What could be worse than watching Luton lose? I watch it three more times. . .

What could be worse than watching Luton lose? I watch it three more times. . .

Неприятно было смотреть с точки зрения Уотфорда. <i>(Image: Pennsylvania)</i>” bad-src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/lThxNdXo7eCLhdh5sHnYsg–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MA–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/watford_observer_147/fcaaeccbd1c2a4 844c7a874effc29606″ src= “https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/lThxNdXo7eCLhdh5sHnYsg–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MA–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/watford_observer_147/fcaaeccbd1c2a4844c7a8 74effc29606″/><button class=

It was not pleasant to watch from Watford’s point of view. (Image: Pennsylvania)

Watching Saturday’s game once was unpleasant enough, but Tom Cleverley watched it three more times before going to bed.

The Hornets head coach launched an investigation into what happened at Kenilworth Road, sitting for more than four hours again before starting repair work at the training ground the next morning.

“Right after the match, I watched the game three times and barely slept,” he said.

“We discussed the Luton game in a meeting on Sunday morning which clearly showed where we had failed.

“Then we trained hard to get it right at Leeds.

“For me, we are lucky that the next game is coming so soon.”

Cleverly’s disturbing video on Saturday night led to a conclusion that many fans would agree with.

“When I watched the game again, as a coach you look at it from a structural point of view and were there any mistakes in tactics or from a personnel point of view,” he explained.

“Then you look at it again in terms of the fundamentals of football that I’m talking about.

“At Norwich we were perhaps too aggressive with the press against a good team.

“I may have picked the wrong team at Preston.

“After watching it again, at Luton I didn’t have many excuses for the players and we didn’t get all the fundamentals in place.”

Cleverly didn’t go so far as to suggest his players play in a way that makes them care.

“It wasn’t a case of the players not caring, it was one group of players who accepted the challenge and the situation and one who shyed away from it all a bit.

“This is certainly not a lack of concern.

“I saw how we reacted to being two goals down at Millwall and tried our best to get the win.

“I see that we are 1-0 down against Middlesbrough, who along with Leeds are the best team in the division in terms of possession, and rather than shy away from the problem, we solved it.

“Every day I see a group of players on the training field who care.

“But on Saturday we just weren’t up to the challenge.”

Was it Luton’s physicality that allowed them to dominate the Hornets so easily?

“When we came to Millwall we didn’t allow them to be as physical as usual,” Cleverley noted.

“You look at our team, their size, strength, experience – sometimes it only takes three or four out of 11 to fail and the whole team suffers, like we did on Saturday.”