WAT A DIFFERENCE A WEAK MAKES Hornets had no sting just seven days after their brilliant win over Liverpool but Cathcart says: This won’t dent our belief

(right) netted his eighth Premier League goal of the season after lax defending and Palace hung on for a third consecutive 1-0 win.

You always know what you are going to get with a Roy Hodgson team. The same cannot be said for Pearson’s side who are as difficult to forecast as the spring weather.

“It’s key that we want to be consistent so it’s disappointing,” said Cathcart. “I don’t think this dents our belief we can stay up. We’ve shown what we can do, last week is an example of that.

“We’ve taken confidence since the manager has come in and kept the momentum.”

The Northern Ireland defender claimed the “performance wasn’t too bad.”

So was the intensity the same against Palace as Liverpool? “Dunno, it’s hard to judge,” Cathcart said (above, right). “They play a lot more direct than Liverpool so there’s more second balls and it’s hard to judge the intensity but we’ve come away disappointed not to get anything. We were a little bit unlucky at times.”

Ismaila Sarr, the two-goal hero last week, was poor while Gary Cahill contained Troy Deeney to show he has been the free signing of the season. “He’s been fantastic,” said his former England boss Hodgson. “It’s all to do with his character.” Cahill will hand the armband to the returning Luka Milivojevic, who came off the bench for his first action in four weeks following an illness.

The Serb was pleased with his team’s readiness to support the targeted Wilf Zaha in a niggly encounter which saw eight yellow cards. “We are trying to protect our teammates,” said Milivojevic. “Wilfried is one of our best players and gets fouled all the time. We are always there to try and help him.”

Watford now have to help themselves, especially in home games with Norwich and Newcastle. “You must take your chances – that’s the bottom line,” said Pearson.