Watford boss Quique Sanchez Flores wants his side to start building from the back as they look to move forwards from the trashing by Manchester City.
The Hornets were taken apart in an 8-0 demolition by the Premier League champions last weekend.
Watford at least produced a positive response when defeating Swansea 2-1 in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night.
And on Saturday, Sanchez Flores takes his side to Wolves, where a first league win of the campaign would lift them off the foot of the table.
During his previous spell in charge in the 2015-16 campaign, Sanchez Flores, reappointed last month to replace Javier Gracia, developed a team which had proved hard to break down, returning some 11 clean sheets.
The Spaniard feels getting things together at the back once again would be a welcome step in the right direction.
“We don’t have problems in attack. We have chances, every single match we have shots and usually we have opportunities to score,” Sanchez Flores said.
“But the problem I have always thought of in my life as a coach is if you want to attack well, you also need to defend well.
“The defence is a base for everything. You can be organised with the ball but you need to be organised without the ball.
“Even the transitions, if you want to transition after to attack it’s very important how fast you reorganise the team.
“Everyone can defend, not just the defenders. We need to be compact again. This was the base four years ago and this should be the base four years later.”
Despite the embarrassment of their previous Premier League game – when ruthless City had raced into a 5-0 lead inside just 18 minutes – Sanchez Flores feels there are positive signs the group can move on.
“I like the way the players train, I like the interest they are putting into our instructions and the way they react after last weekend,” the Watford head coach said at a press conference.
“I like the way they were involved in the last match in the cup, so all these things they are adding.
“Training is one thing, they train very well, but we need to know how they compete.
“We used the last match to try to clear our mind, to throw last weekend and to try to be positive for the next match.”
Sanchez Flores, though, is not expecting an easy ride at Molineux, despite Wolves’ own indifferent start to the new campaign which also sees them in Europa League action.
“They have a very good team and a very good coach,” the Watford boss said.
“We will find a very tough match, so we will have to be ready because it is very important for us.”
