A big noisy crowd, and opponents fresh from the Premier League. Away to Leeds was the toughest test of the season so far and Watford captain Daniel Bachmann admitted some of his players simply didn’t cope.

The Hornets were on the back foot from the very start, and Bachmann had made two saves to deny certain goals before Watford had even had a meaningful spell of possession.

It was only the Austrian international's saves that kept the home side at bay for more than an hour, and the final margin of the 3-0 defeat was the least the home side deserved.

After the game, Bachmann said his side had lost the mental battle before the on-field contest had even started.

“Coming here we knew it wasn’t going to be easy with the squad they have, the crowd, the stadium, but apart from technically today, I thought the biggest problem was in our heads,” he conceded.

“You could see from the first whistle that some of the lads were struggling with the atmosphere and the pressure.

“Fair play to Leeds, they’ve obviously just got relegated so it would be strange if they weren’t as good as they were today. It’s disappointing from our point of view, but I think a lot was lost in the head today.

“Like I said mentally, from my personal opinion, I felt like some people were a bit scared today.

“We are a good team that play good football. We always knew it was going to be difficult today coming to this place with the squad they have and obviously the crowd behind them.

“We had to switch that off and concentrate on us, and we didn’t do that today. That’s something we need to take going forward, that it’s just a game of football.

“Whether 30,000 people watch us or 60,000, it doesn’t matter, it’s a game of football. That’s what we need to learn from today.”

Bachmann was the Hornets’ stand-out player by some distance at Elland Road, but having denied the home side for more than an hour, he was then disappointed in the manner of the goals he did concede.

“They were disappointing goals to concede. The first one, unmarked at the back post to tap-in,” he said

“Obviously conceding from a corner is always disappointing, especially in a game like this when you’re under the cosh.

“We couldn’t really get out of our half, and then to concede from a set-piece just hurts that little bit more in a game like this.

“It was an afternoon to forget. Leeds were very good, but we were nowhere near good enough today.

“It was never going to be an easy game and it hurts. We never want to lose a game and concede three goals, especially from a goalkeeper’s point of view – it's not nice. But it's one game out of 46 and we have 38 games left now.”