Watford manager Quique Sanchez Flores has had his say on his side's performance against Southampton at St Mary's on Wednesday night, and such was the disappointing level of performance from the Hornets, the Spaniard felt the need to apologise to the fans.
Marching into form
Southampton were in control of the game throughout, and a goal apiece from Shane Long and Dusan Tadic were enough to give the Saints a comfortable 2-0 win and a valuable three points considering their poor recent form.
Flores' players would have fancied their chances against an out of sorts Southampton, but Ronald Koeman's team put on an efficient, comfortable display - something that has been in short supply during this strange Premier League season, perhaps even only seen in their emphatic 4-0 win over Arsenal.
The result consigns Watford to their third consecutive league defeat - following losses against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City in recent weeks - and although the bubble that surrounds Vicarage Road - thanks to a wonderful start to the season - hasn't yet burst, perhaps it might be deflating a little.
Can't find the shooting boots
"The worst match we have played in the Premier League"
- Quique Sanchez Flores
It truly was a dreadful display - the Hornets only managing to muster four goal attempts in the 90 minutes, just one of which found the target. That is in sharp contrast to the recent goal scoring form of Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo, and Flores, speaking to the BBC after the game, was the first to concede how disappointing the performance was. The Watford boss described the performance as "the worst match [they] have played in the Premier League", saying he was "sorry for the first half", and offering his "apologies to the fans".
The result leaves Watford in a still very respectable 10th place in the Premier League table, but Flores knows the advantage of momentum and he will be looking to get his side back into gear against Swansea City on Monday night.
It's a perfectly winnable game for the Hornets, but if they should slip to defeat for a fourth time in a row, that protective that Watford have worked so hard to form this season, might just start to burst in front of their eyes.
