Roy Hodgson insists Watford ‘have to keep faith’ of Premier League survival despite last-gasp Brentford defeat

Roy Hodgson has called for Watford to keep believing they can secure Premier League survival despite a last-gasp defeat to Brentford.

The Hornets have now lost ten Premier League matches in a row at home, falling to defeat on every occasion at Vicarage Road since their win over Manchester United in November resulted in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer getting sacked.

Pontus Jansson’s 95th-minute winner gave Brentford a 2-1 victory, which leaves Watford six points off 17th-placed Everton having played two matches more.

Brentford took an early lead when Christian Norgaard slotted the ball home from an unmarked position, before it was cancelled out by Emmanuel Dennis’ strike in the second half.

However, despite Jansson’s late header securing victory for the visitors, Hodgson insisted the Watford team must not give in.

“One has to believe, one has to keep faith, one has to take some sort of heart from their desire and commitment and effort during the second half,” the Hornets boss said.

“You just have to hope that six times 95 minutes more, they’ll be able to do that and maybe, who knows, we will pick up points we aren’t expected to and we will get ourselves back in the race.

“But it’s not the right moment in time to start predicting that from the next game onwards we are now going to sweep the board and kill all opposition that we find in front of us, because if I say that people will laugh at me.”

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The result leaves Brentford just one point shy of the coveted 40-point mark and crucially, 15 points clear of the drop zone.

Bees manager Thomas Frank praised his side’s mentality and how far they have come this season.

“It’s been in many ways a crazy season for us, remarkable