Nigel Pearson wants Watford to put in performance to be proud of against Liverpool

The former Leicester City man came to Anfield during his spell with the Foxes in which he helped them survive from unlikely circumstances and secured a 2-2 draw, despite being two goals down at half-time.

Reflecting on that game, he thought he should have won that day, but said his focus today was much more on how his team performs.

"We came in at 2-0 down with two penalties that weren't penalties and we could've won the game," he said.

"My absolute focus right now is getting a performance that we can come away from Anfield and say, 'yeah we're pleased with that'. My priority is very much to try and affect the moment that we have now. 

"It's not magic wand time here, it's about trying to get some clarity with how we work, galvanise the group, bring everybody together so that we understand our roles in trying to affect change and being brave."

Pearson also called for the Watford supporters to buy into what he is trying to achieve, but knows that his side has to give them something to cheer about first.

The new boss again focused his attentions on the team's performances and said they also needed to be good enough to make the fans proud.

"We have a very loyal fanbase and we are currently playing in front of full houses every time," he said.

"But it's up to us to ignite them. We can't wait for them to get us going. I think if we show the types of commitment and application that they would expect from our players and from our coaching staff, from us as a football club, I've got absolutely no doubt that they'll back us to the hilt.

"When I say a collective buy in, I'm including everyone in that and I'm including our fans because we need to give them some optimism, we need to give them something to cheer, we need to give them something that they are proud of. They need to go away from matches knowing that their team has been committed to doing everything they can to get the right result in that football game."