Watford defender Nathan Ake, on loan from Chelsea, has had his say about the Hornets' recent slump in form, expressing his desire for the team to get back to winning ways in the Premier League.
Quique Sanchez Flores' side have struggled in recent weeks, not winning a game since the turn of the year. Watford's last victory was the impressive 3-0 win over Liverpool in December, and the Hornets have now lost four Premier League games in a row - the only saving grace being a 1-0 victory over Newcastle United in the FA Cup third round.
The bubble bursts?
For some reason, Watford - and in particular Odion Ighalo, who has been so prolific this campaign - are misfiring all of a sudden, although both the manager and players have been quick to point out that they have had some misfortunate lately, including two late, cruel, 2-1 losses against Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur.
They have had some disappointing performances as well, with a miserable 2-0 defeat to Southampton - that prompted Flores to ask for forgiveness from the travelling fans - and indeed a 1-0 loss to Swansea City on Monday night, that stretches the Hornets' losing streak to four consecutive league defeats.
It is important to remember that Watford, despite this recent slump, are still exceeding all post-season expectations - which should tell you how well they did in the first half of the campaign - and it is likely they will have a good league table finish regardless.
"We're still in a good position"
- Nathan Ake
Still, manager, players and fans all want to get back to winning games and playing great football again, so it is no wonder that Ake has highlighted the fact that Watford are still in a "good postition", and that the team have target Saturday's game against Newcastle as "a good opportunity" to regain some confidence.
Ake went on to discuss the fact that his first game in Watford colours was the reverse fixture against Newcastle at St James' earlier in the season, where he came on as a substitute for the last 15 minutes. The 20-year-old hopes that it will be "another important three points" this time around, even though much has changed.
The full back went on to discuss Newcastle's strengths, suggesting that they have some "big threats" - including new signing Jonjo Shelvey - and that the Toon will be "strong throughout". Neverthless, Ake has suggested that Watford will "analyse them well" and be ready as they aim to pick up three valuable, confidence-boosting points come Saturday afternoon.
