Head Coach Chris Wilder admitted his Watford side were beaten by the better team on the day, as his first match in charge ended in a disappointing 1-0 defeat at Queens Park Rangers in the Sky Bet Championship.

Tim Iroegbunam’s first-half strike ultimately proved to be the winner for the hosts in west London, as the Golden Boys found chances to be at a premium despite dominating possession for much of the fixture.

Having been in the Hornets’ hotseat for less than a week, Wilder cut a frustrated figure at full-time, and he explained that reoccurring issues on the pitch will need to be fixed if they are to force themselves back into the play-off mix in the season’s remaining 10 games.

“It wasn’t the start I wanted, or the one the players or the travelling supporters wanted,” he said. “The game panned out how I expected it to, and I think the first goal was really important because it played into their hands.

“It was always going to be a direct and physical battle, and they were better than us at winning the first and second balls. When we managed to break it up and get into decent positions we didn’t do enough with the ball, and we were lacking in terms of our quality and decision-making.

“We were a bit better in the second half, and we had a decent period for 15 or 20 minutes, but we couldn’t make the most of it and then it became really scrappy. We tried to change the set-up of the team a few times but we couldn’t get it to work, and in the end I thought QPR were deserved winners.”

João Pedro was among Watford’s liveliest assets throughout the match and the Brazilian star saw his second-half penalty shouts waved away by stand-in referee Craig Hicks, but Wilder played down the importance of the incident.

He said: “I haven’t seen it back, but there was a lot of talk about it. I think we’re clutching at straws really if we’re hoping for a penalty shout to get us back in the game.

“I’m more concerned with the fact that we need to have more quality in the final third, and the confidence to convert the chances or the final pass. We need to be more brave in terms of our decision-making, and make better use of the possession when we’ve got the ball.”

Wilder doesn’t have to wait long before Watford are back in league action, with Birmingham City next up back at Vicarage Road on Tuesday evening (March 14, 7.45pm KO).

With six points now separating the Hornets and sixth place, and two consecutive home games to come, the ex-Sheffield United boss stressed the importance of quickly bouncing back to winning ways.

He added: “We’ve got to work quickly and smartly over the next 24 to 48 hours to make sure we get the right messages to the players ahead of the Birmingham game now. We’ve not had very long to work with the players - which is no excuse at all because I knew the situation - but we’ve got a chance to put things right now on Tuesday.

“The season isn’t done because we got beat here today. There’s plenty still to play for, but we know things have got to happen sooner rather than later. We’ve got two games in a row at home, and if we manage to come out of them with results we’ll still be in a decent position.”