It was another game unbeaten and another clean sheet, but for fans who had made the trip to Huddersfield in grim weather there was very little else to enjoy about yesterday’s 0-0 draw.

After the woeful defeats at Leeds and Sunderland, it was obvious the Hornets needed to do something differently on their travels to stem the flow of beatings.

However, the game at the McAlpine felt like Watford had traded any sense of adventure, entertainment or risk in order to make sure they didn’t lose.

Had it been a trip to leaders Leicester, that might be understandable. But visiting a team that had just shipped eight goals in two games and was missing 11 players including their captain, it felt like the level of caution in the approach had been dialled up unnecessarily high.

Did Valerien Ismael agree that the balance between not losing/conceding, and trying to win/score had gone wrong at the John Smith’s Stadium?

“It’s always a process, and this is the first time we have faced an opponent that has set up like that this season,” he said.

“We will go and analyse the game, find a solution and then give the solution to the players.

“The first thing is confidence, and having confidence in yourself. You have to have confidence in your quality and to go one v one to create something.

“Whatever the situation – corner, free kick, throw in – you have to make sure you create stress in the opponent’s last third.”

The head coach paced around his technical area during the game and looked frustrated, often waving an arm in exasperation or turning to his staff and clearly expressing his discontent.

What did he find particularly disappointing on an afternoon where there was plenty to pick from?

“There were a lot of situations,” he said.

“Sometimes it was because we didn’t have the confidence in the last third, and we turned down the chance to penetrate in the way we expected.

“It’s the Championship, we are all passionate and you want to win.

“As you come to the end of the game you want to see more.

“We didn’t create big chances where I can stay confident on the sidelines that the goal will come. It was more a case of ‘come on guys, we want more now’.”

• The current five-game unbeaten run is the longest Watford have been on the since the start of last season.

Should the Hornets win or draw with Rotherham next weekend, it will be their longest run without defeat since April 2021, when they won seven and drew one before losing to Luton at Kenilworth Road.