“Let’s give it a right go and take the handbrake off.”

That was the message new head coach Chris Wilder sent to his players and the Watford supporters via the media at his first press conference this afternoon.

With a four-point gap to bridge between themselves and the play-off places – and only 11 games in which to do – the handbrake really cannot be deployed at all if the Hornets want to extend their season beyond the final scheduled game against Stoke in May.

And Wilder believes it is down to the players to give the fans something to get behind.

“It’s up to us to kick-start things, and if we show the qualities we have and the characteristics of a side that wants to work hard, play and win, then I believe the fans will get on board with us,” he said.

“It’s a cliché, but we need to make Vicarage Road a fortress now. It has to be a hard place for other teams to come and play.

“The supporters want something out of their season. It was one that started with high hopes: I watched the first game of the season against Sheffield United and they got off to a fantastic start.

“But things happen at football clubs up and down the country, and that’s certainly been the case at Watford.

“I’m looking for me and my staff to galvanise the players, get them moving forward and I’m 100% sure the supporters will get on board.

“Let’s give it a right go and take the handbrake off.”

While the idea of throwing everything at these last 11 games has the potential to be exciting, Wilder is clear as well that it won’t be done without a plan.

“We’re not going to be kamikaze, we have to play within a structure and be controlled. But ultimately it’s about winning games,” he said.

“The players should be in games of football to win, and the supporters of Watford want to see their team win.

“It’s not going to be easy, but this team is more than capable of winning games of football in this division.

“I know it’s another old boring saying, but we just have to take it game by game. We’ll tick games off. Tomorrow is a big game, every game left is a big game really.

“This isn’t a free hit for the players: they have to own the situation we are in at the moment. But there’s still a quarter of the season to go.

“You look at the group of players we’ve got here and they should be dominating games and they should be dominating possession. They should be creating chances and scoring goals, with the firepower we’ve got.

“The part of the game in possession we should be good at, but there has to be something at the end of it.”