Saturday 24 December 2016 19:34, UK
Watford's recent results are a blip rather than a cause for real concern, their manager Walter Mazzari says.
Five defeats in their last seven Premier League games mean the Hornets go into Christmas in the bottom half following a promising start under Mazzarri.
But the Italian has been encouraged by the consistency of his side's performances even as results have suffered.
"There have only been one or two matches where we have played badly without winning," he said. "This is the most important thing that we look at.
"If we look at the season, there have been many big teams who have gone through negative moments, losing some games in a row,. This is a characteristic of the Premier League in general and it has happened to us now
"If we have to give a reason, then it is because the many injuries we've had hasn't helped us, but if we look in general, even when we were playing well there were points that we dropped and we have to take this into consideration."
Crystal Palace are the Boxing Day opponents for Watford, live on Sky Sports, and Mazzari, who is new to English football's Christmas traditions.
He said: "For me it's a new experience and once it's finished I'll be able to tell you whether it's a positive or a negative.
"What's most important is that we'll be winning the games because this is what everything comes down to. If we win I'll be happy and if we lose, of course then I won't be happy."
