The Watford head coach was again left to rue what might have been after their season on the road ended with a 3-0 defeat at Chelsea.

The Hornets had been the better side in the first half but a combination of not taking their chances – coupled with a fantastic save from Kepa Arrizabalaga to deny Troy Deeney – left the game goalless at the interval.

And the Hornets’ inability to turn their supremacy into goals was to be emphatically punished within five minutes of the restart when Ruben Loftus-Cheek and David Luiz both capitalised on some poor defending at corners, before Gonzalo Higuain added a third later in the second half.

Javi Gracia said: “I think the result was very, very tough for us. In my opinion we didn’t deserve it. It’s true we had some good moments in the first half, a good performance, creating good chances and dominating the game because in that moment we played in the opposition half, we recovered the ball after losing it with a very good attitude and we were very ambitious. But we didn’t take the chances and we didn’t confirm.

“We have to be more clinical in that situation, more aggressive in both areas because in the first half we had the chances and in the second half we conceded two goals from set pieces. It’s difficult to say I’m happy with the performance because losing 3-0, I am not happy.”

The FA Cup final against Manchester City is now less than two weeks away, but Gracia did not feel his players’ minds were distracted by their forthcoming trip to Wembley.

He said: “We have to play the final and it’s normal it’s on our minds. But I think the team is always focused on the next game and we were focused today on this game.

“I like the way we played in the first half but we have to take advantage of the chances we had because after, in these stadiums, always the team have some moments when they create some chances.”