Mazzarri desperate to resolve Watford’s defensive woes

Sunday will mark the six-month anniversary since Watford’s last clean sheet and manager Walter Mazzarri admits their defensive record is something he desperately wants to change.

Only three teams have conceded more in the Premier League so far this season and the Hornets’ record when it comes to shipping goals from crosses into the box is the worst in the division by far.

The fact Watford have scored as many as second-place Tottenham Hotspur and currently sit 11th in the Premier League table suggests their defensive woes may not be a major issue.

But Mazzarri, who replaced Quique Sanchez Flores at the helm in the summer, knows things need to change.

(Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

The Italian said: “There are some things we want to improve on. We have created many opportunities to score but we need to improve defensively.

“I don’t want to excuse anything but we have been missing defensive players like [Miguel] Britos and [Craig] Cathcart who are very important to us.

“We allowed too many chances against Bournemouth and it is definitely something we are working on.”

He added: “I’m not that disappointed [in the defending] because I look at the whole game over and watch how we play from the start of the game until the final whistle. The main thing is how we play on the pitch.

“Of course I look at my team scoring one more goal than our rivals but I want to work defensively too and the goals we have been giving to the opposition have been many because we were not concentrating properly at that particular moment – that is something we have to focus on.”