Watford didn’t show the quality they have in the final third against Leicester on Saturday.

That was the view of defender Ryan Porteous after the 2-1 home defeat which stretched Watford’s winless run to six games in all competitions.

However the Scottish international also pointed to the double blow the Hornets received right at the very start of the game.

“It’s always going to be tough when you lose your striker in the first couple of minutes and then you give away a penalty,” he said.

“The lads felt at the time it was a bit soft, but I’ve not had a chance to watch it back.

“Against a team like Leicester, to get those two setbacks in the first 10 minutes and then bounce back showed the fight that we have.

“I still don’t think we showed enough quality in the final third though.

“We’re playing at home, we’ve got the players to do that, and it’s maybe just finding that spark that we had maybe six weeks ago.

“It was good fight from the boys, but again it just wasn’t enough.”

Having gone two behind early in the second half, the Hornets then rallied after forcing a mistake from Harry Winks.

“We knew we would get chances in the game,” said Porteous.

“Our press can be quite risky but it does create chances. It paid off for our goal, but obviously it didn’t for their second goal.

“If we get it right more times than not then it gives us a good platform against the so-called better teams.

“Towards the end there were some offside decisions and a couple of penalty claims that I don’t think the officials even looked at.”

The former Hibs defender said that the key for finding the form that had lifted Watford to within a point of the play-off places is to follow what head coach Valerien Ismael tells them.

“When you’re going through a rough patch there are things that don’t seem to go your way,” he said.

“What we have to do is stick together and keep believing in what the manager says.

“It’s been a long time since this club has had a manager that everyone believes in from top to bottom.

“He’s been absolutely fantastic for me personally and I think for all the boys.

“The Championship is about who finishes the strongest, and we just need to stay up there.

“Obviously we’ve not been doing too well at home, which is something we need to rectify.

“We just need to get a run of form going quickly because there’s a lot of football still to be played.”