Proud to have made his Watford debut despite a disappointing result, Mattie Pollock felt the Hornets were deservedly beaten by MK Dons in the Carabao Cup second round, and called on the team to move on from the game and focus on the Sky Bet Championship campaign.

With Matthew Dennis and Darragh Burns goals condemning Rob Edwards’ side to elimination in a 2-0 defeat, Pollock stressed that the team needs to improve on the performance displayed in midweek.

“It’s a disappointing game,” Pollock began. “We wanted to win and they outdid us in most aspects of the game, which isn’t good enough from ourselves. We’ve got to be better.

“From a personal point of view, it’s taken a long time to finally wear the Watford kit and step out on the pitch, so for me and my family it’s a proud moment, but it wasn’t good enough.”

Signed from Grimsby Town last summer, Pollock spent last year on loan at League One side Cheltenham Town, and hasn’t had an opportunity to play in front of the Vicarage Road faithful until now.

Even so, the defender felt the fans’ support during his spell with the Robins, and hopes his debut is the first of many appearances to come in a Watford shirt.

“Since joining Watford the fans have been excellent, even when I was out on loan people were still watching me, and I’ve never been a part of something so special,” the 20-year-old continued.

“For me, it’s a proud moment, probably the proudest I’ve had for Watford. Tonight wasn’t a great night, but from a personal point of view I’m buzzing and I want to kick on and play as many games as I can. It’s a big task but I’m ready to give everything I can and step on the pitch and make things right.”

With Queens Park Rangers next in the calendar back in the league (Saturday August 27, 3pm KO), Pollock highlighted that preparing for that Vicarage Road encounter is now the priority.

“It’s an eye-opener,” Pollock admitted. “We’ve got to play every game as it is - just because it’s the cup we can’t change anything. We were second best to most things and the tempo wasn’t really there.

“But there’s no point dwelling on it, we’ve got to shake ourselves down and be ready for the next game.”

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