Roy Hodgson urges Watford to build on long-awaited clean sheet at Burnley

Roy Hodgson told his Watford players to build on a first Premier League clean sheet in 31 attempts after they frustrated relegation rivals Burnley but warned them it would be “foolish” to think they have solved their defensive problems.

Hodgson’s first game in charge of the Hornets yielded a point in horrible conditions as Turf Moor was battered by heavy rain and wind, but an often desperate contest between two sides in the bottom three was short on quality and suggested a long struggle remains ahead for both.

Burnley could take some encouragement from the link-up between deadline-day signing Wout Weghorst and the returning Maxwel Cornet, but Watford will have come away the happier after their first top-flight clean sheet since February 29, 2020 – a period during which they have gone through six managers.

“I’m more than satisfied with the team’s performance,” Hodgson said. “I thought we worked really hard at a notoriously difficult venue to come to. The wind and the rain didn’t help, we’ve got a lot of players who have just joined from foreign teams and they had to adapt but they stood up to it well.

“I thought if any team shaded it it was us and we had some really quite good chances. I certainly think it would have been very harsh had we lost the game, so as a result we have to be satisfied with one point.”

Ben Foster twice denied Cornet, while Weghorst saw a shot deflected on to the crossbar, and Hodgson will recognise that his side still conceded a number of a chances to a Burnley side who have not scored a league goal since a 3-3 draw with Crystal Palace on November 20.

“I think that’s the crux of it,” Hodgson added. “A clean sheet as an event isn’t that important, but we can show the players that the work they’ve