Watford manager Roy Hodgson refused to give up his hopes of surviving in the Premier League despite suffering a heavy defeat against Manchester City on Saturday.
The Hornets are second from the bottom of the league with 22 points, seven points from the relegation zone, with five games remaining.
Speaking after their loss to Man City, the Englishman said: “We will need to do a better job of getting points from our next set of matches. We won’t find ourselves under the same pressure and pressure as today, so then comes a different challenge than how much we can cause problems. Discount.
“We have to try to generate the hope we need to give ourselves a chance. I had no feeling that we lost matches because of a lack of spirit or heart; we get punished for most, if not all of the mistakes we make.
“Ray (Livington) and I came in with high hopes of keeping the club from relegation. It hasn’t happened yet, but it’s not over yet. This job isn’t relatively tougher than any other job I’ve had and we’re still working on encouraging the players to believe they can deliver. He is wanted in these last five matches.”
Watford will face Burnley, Palace, Everton, Leicester City and Chelsea in the remaining league matches.
