'They know how to frustrate you' - Watford boss has his say after Preston North End draw

The game finished 0-0 with neither side carving out an obvious clear cut chance, aside from an opportunity Keinan Davis had in the second half that Freddie Woodman saved and deflected round the post.

The draw was PNE’s eight 0-0 of the season, with Bilic’s men now ninth in the table and four points off the play-off places.

The Serbian was brought in to ensure the Hornets’ immediate return to the top flight having been relegated last season but that’s looking more difficult by the week and he knows they cannot afford slip ups at this stage of the season.

Bilic said: “Frustration. If it was the start of the season or if we were in a comfortable situation I would say not happy, but okay. We did what we did, we tried but we didn't score, but considering where we are and what we wanted and what we want at this point in the season, it's simply not enough.

"If one team deserved to win it was us. But we didn't do enough to win the game. Sometimes we created a few chances and you need that little bit of quality and a bit of luck to open them up.

"We have to give credit to them, they're a good defending side. They know how to frustrate you, they know how to keep the ball a little bit to waste time."

Despite having plenty of both star and fire power, Bilic thought his side were lacking a bit of quality in the final third on Saturday.

The Hornets were forced into a double substitution at half time due to the way North End were handling them defensively but Watford’s performance left their manager cursing their luck and ability to execute in key moments.

He said: “I expect us to be better, especially in the first half, to create a bit more. In the second half, we made some changes and it was much better. We created probably three chances, one of them was clear cut.

"With a couple of them we had a bit of luck missing, like with Ismaila Sarr's shot at the end and with Davis' header. At the moment, we've spoken about it on the training ground, I can't say another word but quality in the box.

"There's always something missing. We were switching sides deep in their half to get a good situation two against one, then we have enough people in the box and the cross is bad. When the cross is good, you're not in the position or your touch is bad. When the cutback is great from Sarr, there's no one there who is following that. Then when you do everything perfect, one vs one, you don't score.

"It's always something. Something is missing at the moment. The boys are trying, running, fighting, keeping the shape. We're putting basically all offensive options on the pitch but we couldn't find a way to open them up.”