Javi Gracia has come out in support of his players after their 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Premier League leaders Liverpool and said they have a lot to be praised for.

The Hornets were comfortably beaten on Merseyside on Wednesday evening, but the head coach still has confidence in their ability to have a strong finish to the season.

He said: "When there are ten games left, to be in the seventh position, to have 40 points, to be in the quarter finals of the FA Cup. I think they deserve all my support in this moment because they have done a lot of things well before coming here today and losing the game.

"Today doesn’t change my opinion about my players, it doesn’t change the confidence I have in all of them. Today’s a bad day for all of us. They have good players and are a very good team, they played well, they deserved to win and we’ll try to do better next time."

While defending his players, Gracia did admit that they could have been better at dealing with crosses, with four of Liverpool's goals coming from balls from out wide. 

However, he remains positive about his squad and said he simply came up against a stronger opponent.

He said: "After we conceded one early goal it was very difficult for us to compete.

"Today we have conceded more goals from lateral crosses, we’ve not defended the way we usually do but [there were] different players like Matip, Van Dijk, Matip, Origi today and Mane, we know it’s demanding.

"We carry on this week to be focused on the next game. We have very good players, we have a very good squad and we will continue playing in the same way we have done.

"About my players, the only thing I can say is I have a big confidence in them I know we are keeping a good level in all the performances. We knew today it would be especially tough but we are focused on the next game."