Head coach Slavisa Jokanovic confirmed Matej Vydra and Gianni Munari’s omission from Watford’s starting line-up this afternoon was purely a tactical decision and doesn’t believe their absence contributed to the 2-1 defeat to Derby County.

The Rams dominated the first half at Vicarage Road and could have led by a greater margin than their one-goal lead at the break.

Vydra – the club’s top scorer - was introduced at half-time and contributed significantly to a much-improved display from the Golden Boys.

And the equaliser came from Munari, who also impressed following his arrival just after the hour mark.

Derby went on to win the match after Craig Bryson’s fine strike with just nine minutes remaining.

Jokanovic said: “We didn’t make any tactical changes or anything like that [at half-time], it was just one player (Vydra) for another (Odion Ighalo). [But] in the second half we were more aggressive, we had more energy and we were braver – we retained the ball more and controlled the match.”

In the first half Watford appeared to play in a more traditional 4-4-2 formation, with Ighalo playing alongside Troy Deeney up front. But once Vydra was introduced, he played deeper and it looked more like a 4-2-3-1 formation.

However, Jokanovic said: “It was more or less [the same formation]. It was the job we expected Ighalo to do and in the second half we gave Vydra a similar job to do. But it is not a problem about playing one player or another player; it is that we didn’t have a good game with 11 players on the pitch in the first half. It is not a question of one player doing a good or a bad job. I thought Ighalo did a good job in the first 45 minutes but we decided this change would change a few things in the game.”

Reflecting on the game, Jokanovic admitted the difference in Watford’s performance level from the first half to the second was like chalk and cheese.

“We played the first 45 minutes without energy,” he said. “We didn’t play a good game and we didn’t press them really. With the goal, we were a little bit scared. We weren’t being brave and played many passes at the back slowly. We had many problems in the first 45 minutes.

“It’s true in the first half Derby were more dangerous but my team made some important chances in the first 45 minutes. In the second 45 minutes the situation is a complete change and it’s probably the best 45 minutes in the last month-and-a-half I have been here. We played very well, we made many chances and then they scored the goal and win the game. They scored twice and they scored because they are very talented players and football, sometimes it’s fair, sometimes it’s not fair but this is football.”