Watford Head Coach Tom Cleverley has revealed he delivered a brutal dressing down to his players at half time during the 0-0 draw with Plymouth Argyle at the weekend.
The 35-year-old has performed a wonderful job at Vicarage Road this season, with the Hornets still well in the mix in the race for the play-offs. However, a run of one win from their last five games has seem them lose ground. As a result, they now sit in ninth, four points below sixth-placed West Bromwich Albion.
After losing to Oxford United before the international break, the visit of Plymouth provided an excellent opportunity to return to winning ways. It wasn’t to be though, with the Pilgrims standing firm before securing a point.
Cleverley Unimpressed With First Half Showing
Despite having 72% possession and 17 shots on goal, they mustered just one effort on target, much to Cleverley’s annoyance. Speaking to The Watford Observer, the former England midfielder revealed he made his thoughts to his players clear at half time:
“There’s only been two or three of those this season. I feel like the players are mentally strong enough to be able to take that or else I wouldn’t do it, and it comes because I know they are better than that first half.
“We prepare better than that first-half performance.
“I think they have done fantastically well to reconnect with the supporters of the last 12 months. People have enjoyed coming back to The Vic in the last year, but that first-half performance was something I wouldn’t have enjoyed watching. I want us to be much more entertaining than that.
“I don’t have any regrets about doing it, and I don’t feel bad doing it. It’s something that probably wasn’t in my character when I was a player but I’ve developed it – it’s a stressful job!”
Writer’s View
For teams at the top and bottom end of the table, the business end of the season can be a frantic one. There’s no getting away from the fact that Watford were hugely disappointing at the weekend. Failing to score against a team that has conceded 77 goals this season will be a major disappointment, especially as Cleverley is still targeting a place in the play-offs. It now getting to the point that every game will be viewed as a cup final and the players will be hoping they don’t put in a performance worthy of the Head Coach’s wrath again.
