Watford boss Quique Sanchez Flores is not about to drive himself crazy by trying to work out how many points might be needed to stay in the Premier League.
After beating fellow strugglers Norwich before the international break to haul themselves off the bottom of the table, the Hornets were handed a reality check after a sobering 3-0 home defeat by Burnley.
Watford head to Southampton on eight points, but are just one behind their hosts and the current gap to West Ham in 17th stands at five.
Sanchez Flores, though, is not about to spend hours trying to calculate what tally could see them safe come May, and instead will focus on producing a winning formula.
“Someone told me that Burnley last year on December 26 had 12 points in 19 games – and in the end, they stayed up really well,” the Spaniard said.
“But I am not doing this kind of count, it would be crazy to.
“If you lose your time doing maths it would be crazy. I have a lot of things to do with the team.”
The Watford boss added at a press conference: “Be positive, there is time, there is time for the next match, time for the future because we have many matches to play.
“It’s not the end of the season. If we are able to win, we need to start working again.
“The most difficult thing is not to win one, but it is to win and win again and again and again.”
Sanchez Flores returned to the club for a second spell when he replaced Javier Gracia in early September.
While his own position continues to be the subject of much speculation, the Spaniard is ready to meet the challenges head on.
“The situation is obviously not comfortable. It’s uncomfortable, it’s difficult and we can’t relax,” Sanchez Flores said.
“We need to go one step more, one step up. We need to bring back the good feelings we had for the games against Tottenham and Norwich.
“We need to be focused with no distractions and concentrate on the work we are doing.
“It’s the only way we can do this if we want to change the situation. The only thing we can do is fight and fight a lot.”
Southampton were close to securing a first Premier League win since mid-September at Arsenal before Alexandre Lacazette struck deep into stoppage-time to salvage a 2-2 draw.
Sanchez Flores hopes a positive result for themselves at St Mary’s Stadium could prove a turning point, but will not underestimate the threat of Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side.
“We know they are dangerous, they have very quick players, good players in the midfield, strong defenders,” the Watford manager said.
“But we have our players too, we have things we want to do. It should be even, like every single match in the Premier League.”
