Captain Moussa Sissoko rued Watford’s second-half showing against Burnley, after a promising first-half display was undone by late Jack Cork and Josh Brownhill goals that saw the Clarets snatch a 2-1 win at Vicarage Road.

The Hornets’ 11th successive home defeat in the Premier League leaves them 12 points adrift of safety and on the brink of relegation, with Sissoko admitting the result was “very painful” to take.

“We had two different halves,” said the Frenchman. “In the first half we did very well, showed good spirit, commitment, desire and attitude. We scored a good goal but should have scored more.

“The second half was very poor - we didn’t play, and we didn’t create enough. We could have scored again on a few occasions but didn’t.

“In the Premier League one goal isn’t enough, it doesn’t matter who you are playing, and unfortunately we fell short.”

While the drop now looks likely the final four games of the season present the Golden Boys with a chance to turn around their poor run of form, with Sissoko tasked with lifting the mood in the dressing room.

Sissoko added: “We knew about the dangers Burnley possess and it was difficult to keep a clean sheet, but we conceded twice. We could have done better and the mood is now very low.

“As a team, and as a club, we’re in this together. The next few days will be tough, but as professionals we have to give our best until the end of the season and finish well.”

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