Watford Boss Silva Left Frustrated by Overall Team Performance in 1-0 Loss to Stoke

Marco Silva has admitted that Watford didn't deserve to pick up any points as his team were gunned down by Stoke City on Saturday.

Darren Fletcher's first goal for the Potters consigned the Hornets to a third league defeat of the season and put a spanner in the works of their impressive early season form.

Speaking via the Hertfordshire Mercury in the wake of his side's loss, Silva was exasperated at the manner with which his players performed as they failed to test Jack Butland in the Stoke goal even once.

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He said: "I didn't like how we played in the first half. We gave them the advantage for 45 minutes, and a big gift for them with the goal.

"It's clear for us when [Tom] Cleverley [is in] that zone and you have one player ready to go in that zone - we lost our composure in that moment.

"After that, they were comfortable first half and we were too slow. We knew before they would come and play behind the ball and what they did is clear.

"In the second half it was more our image as a team, with more pace and intensity and it's really difficult with 10 players behind the ball.

"We created two or three chances, and if you can score the first goal everything is different but we missed those chances.

"In this type of match one team came to play, and the other to put men behind the ball. We had to play faster, do something different and have more intensity and not make mistakes like we did in the first half."

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Silva, who was less than impressed with the officiating in the clash, also paid tribute to Stoke for respecting his side enough to put men behind the ball and hit his side on the counter.

He added: "When you perform well, other teams will analyse our team; maybe in the past, you didn't see tactics like that here, but it happens now," he added.

"They came here to put men behind the ball. It's normal, and after we need to find the moments to create more chances.

"If you play the first half like we did in the second, with pace and intensity, everything would be different."