Xisco Munoz insists he is looking forward to the opportunity he has on Saturday to make changes to his Watford team and, he hopes, turn their fortunes around.

The head coach was in an upbeat mood during his pre-match press conference, despite his side throwing away a lead against Queens Park Rangers on Monday evening, and has told his players to try and stay one step ahead of their competitors in their quest for promotion to the Premier League.

Ahead of him is a tricky match at Coventry City, which will test his side’s ability to respond to defeat.

The Hornets have struggled on the road this season and have also struggled to score goals, with a reliance on penalties making their goalscoring statistics look more decorated than perhaps they ought to be.

Nevertheless, Munoz brushed off questions about his side’s creativity and said they were working hard to correct their mistakes and improve their form away from Vicarage Road.

“For me, it’s just one week more,” said the head coach. “I understand what happens in football. I know how it is, when I win I have blue eyes and am tall and everything. And then when I lose, it’s different. I know. Usually I have one way. That way is to work very hard to try to give the best for the squad, give the best for the players, give the best for my staff and give the best to stay in a good way. This is my objective.

“We know we have this responsibility, we know we have this big problem. Now is the moment to try and change. This is the reality. I think the players also know about this. We have problems in different grounds, but it’s the moment to stay one step in front of everyone try.”

Munoz admitted he had made mistakes in recent games, including with his tactics, with his decision to use midfielder Will Hughes out of position on the left questioned on more than one occasion.

The Spaniard hinted that he may look to move Hughes back into the centre as part of a “new system” he said he would work with after the loss to QPR.

“We need to work. We need to change different things, we need to change different tactics,” he said. “You will see what we’ll have.

“I think Will has more potential in the middle but sometimes for one reason or another, we decided to put him there [on the left]. I know Will gives more for the team in the middle but sometimes you need him in one side or another side. I know and I’m sure he can give better.”

Picture: PA

Picture: PA

Hughes is not the only player Munoz is hoping will benefit from a change in system this weekend in Birmingham, with the coach considering his options for his first XI, with several players still out injured.

However, he is remaining both calm and patient with the players who were involved in the defeat on Monday and said setbacks like the one against QPR were not out of the ordinary.

“It’s normal, this is sport,” he said. “Sometimes you can play better. We’re not machines. If we are machines, everyone plays excellent in all the games.

“We know it is our mistake. We need to work on our mistakes. We need to be one step in front of everyone.

“This is my philosophy on life. This is our objective. Okay, we were bad another day but we have another opportunity. Everyone is together in the same way, let’s try to give our best level in the next game.

“All the games are important for us, it’s true. Right now the next game is the most important. We need to play like it’s the last game.”