Amid all the talk of rebuilding and processes – not to mention the ongoing discussions about a new contract – one thing Valerien Ismael and anyone else connected to Watford cannot overlook is the club is owned by someone whose finger is never far from the trigger.

The Hornets have played nine league games and a cup tie so far, winning two, drawing four (in 90 minutes) and losing four.

A year ago, they had won three, drawn four and lost three of their opening 10 league and cup games.

The tenth of those games – a 2-0 defeat at Blackburn – was as bad as anything served up during the 2022/23 campaign and, although the next game with Sunderland ended in a draw, head coach Rob Edwards was removed during the international break that followed.

With two difficult away games this week which are then followed by an international break, does Ismael feel worried that Gino Pozzo might not share the same level of patience for the changes on and off the pitch at Vicarage Road to start to deliver results?

“We speak weekly, and I feel the support,” said the head coach.

“I am impatient as well, and after today I am frustrated with myself, not against the club or the players.

“The decision I made was not right and I can’t explain why it was like that.

“We all want to win games. Everyone is here to win games. You love Watford and you want to see Watford win games and have success. Our owner is the same.

“When you don’t win games it is frustrating and we go away and analyse why that was, but today I think it was an easy one to analyse especially in the first half.”

In the first four league games of the season, the Hornets conceded only two goals. In the last five league games, they have shipped 11.

“I think it’s the mistakes you make. When you concede goals you then don’t get the confidence, Ismael said.

“It’s a process we need to go through. It’s clear we are conceding too many goals at the minute.

“The good thing is we score goals, and we create a lot of chances, but we need to find the right balance now.

“I think we still have the quality to win games. At the moment we are in a difficult run, but the good thing is we have the next game just around the corner and we have a chance to change that.”