Nigel Pearson is convinced Watford have the ability to stay in the Premier League - but only if the players “come to the party”.
Pearson was placed in charge of the Hornets last Friday and in doing so became their third head coach of the season.
The former Leicester City boss has been tasked with keeping Watford in the top flight, with the club bottom of the table and six points from safety after 16 games.
Pearson knows he is short on time to turn things around, with his first match in charge on Saturday against Liverpool at Anfield, but he is convinced the squad has the quality to stay up if they “come to the party”.
“I am not going to try and reinvent the wheel, let’s put it like that,” said Pearson. “It would be slightly foolish of me to think there is going to be a revolution that changes lots and lots of things.
“First and foremost, as I have already said, the mindset of the players if it has been damaged, if there confidence has been eroded through us not being able to find the answers this season, then myself and the staff will do everything we can to help them on the journey.
“But ultimately the players have to come to the party. They have got to embrace the challenge.
“I know what it is like when you are in that situation as a player, when you are frustrated with how things are, but things can change quickly.”
Pearson believes his current squad is “capable” of staying in the Premier League, but he did not rule out adding to the crop of players available to him in January when the transfer window opens.
“We will look at that collectively and decide what the best solutions are for us,” he added.
“I would not rule out the fact that it is a possibility to add players, but the January window is not necessarily straight forward to operate in.
“You are working with inflated prices. You are working in a situation where clubs are reticent to let people leave. I think that we will look at that a little bit further down the line.
