Paulo Pezzolano insists he had to use Tuesday's Carabao Cup first round defeat against Norwich to learn more about his squad and does not regret making eight changes to his starting XI.
The Hornets were very poor in the first half of the game, going in 2-0 at the break, before second-half substitutions produced a response, with Kwadwo Baah pulling a goal back midway through the second period.
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Pezzolano believes rotating his line-up was a worthwhile exercise and that he has learned plenty more about his squad.
He said: "We wanted to give minutes to everyone so we can see them in a competitive environment, to see who can help us and who we can count on.
"No, I don't regret it. I would do it again because we need to see everyone. We took the opportunity.
"It is a good thing for this to happen now."
We exit the cup. pic.twitter.com/bO5k0qVsWq
— Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC) August 12, 2025
The head coach did not shy away from that opening 45 minutes, though, delivering an empathic answer when asked where it had gone wrong.
He said: "All of it. Tactics and energy.
"With regards to the tactics, it's 100% my responsibility. But lack of energy is something that we'll never allow, it's something basic we all need to have in life.
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"In the second half we played a different shape and some starting players came on the pitch, who might raise the level a bit. We want to keep what we saw in the second half.
"We need to see the development of the team, how we wrap up the squad at the end of this transfer period, and then we're confident over time they will get to know each other and we will see them making a difference."
Pezzolano made a triple change at the break, replacing Ryan Andrews, Tom Dele-Bashiru and Jack Grieves.
He added: "Its football. They understood we were trying to make adjustment to improve the team and win the game.
"What's important now is that we keep going forward and hopefully see more of what we saw in the second half."
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