Nigel Pearson wants his Watford players to return after the winter break recharged and ready to deal with their recent setbacks.

Speaking after Saturday's draw with Brighton and Hove Albion, the head coach said he needs his players to be back at their best after a few days off, in order for them to return to the form they showed after he first arrived.

Despite initially recovering a nine point gap between themselves and safety, Watford's recent form has seen them slip back into the relegation zone and Pearson thinks having this weekend off could give them the time they need to recover, while he clears his head on a walking trip in Devon, in order to prepare himself for the final 12 matches of the season.

"I think the players maybe are ready for a few days, good for them," said Pearson.

"Let them recharge, refocus and come back ready to go all again and that's what it is. People sometimes want to talk about how things change when you suffer a couple of setbacks and whether there's a shift in how people are but for me, I always thought that we might get some setbacks that we've got to deal with, now it's about making sure that when we play we give ourselves the best chance of winning games and to do that, it's about doing what the game needs. Sometimes it's about the commitment to defend and sometimes the commitment to attack.

"I'm going to have a few days to recharge my batteries."

Saturday's draw came about due to an Adrian Mariappa own goal that cancelled out Abdoulaye Doucoure's opening strike, while other mistakes in recent games against Everton and Aston Villa have also cost them.

Nevertheless, Pearson is still backing his players to get the Hornets out of the relegation places once again.

"If players make mistakes, they make mistakes," he said.

"In terms of how we function as a team, generally speaking we've been pretty good, we've looked like scoring goals, the most important thing for me is that there's a collective attitude to both attacking and defending. The players' application has been great, I've been really pleased with how they've taken on the challenge that we've got. That's my outlook, it's that our players are really committed, they will continue to do everything they can to put us in a better position as we move forward."