A clean sheet and another match unbeaten at Vicarage Road, but Tom Cleverley admitted it was not a good day for his side.
Watford endured another poor first half and, although they had chances after the break, it was QPR that had the clearer openings in a game that was relatively entertaining for a 0-0 draw.
“I thought the result was a fair one, though I’m not quite sure how it finished 0-0,” said Cleverley.
“The pressure we put them under in the second half I felt deserved to kick the door down, but on the balance of things they have probably shaded the best of the chances.
“We dominated the game in possession and shots on target, but they had the better quality of chance.
“So I’d say a draw was a fair result and I didn’t think we were at it all in the first half, and we will have to pick the bones out of that.
“With the change of system and mentality I thought we were entertaining in the second half, that’s for sure.
“We were really pushing to win it and left ourselves a little bit exposed in the second half.
“It wasn't our best day but we remain unbeaten here.”
Why did the head coach think his team looked so laboured in the first half for the second successive home game?
“The thing that comes to mind is the jet-lag and having three games in eight days,” he said.
“We had 10 players away all around the world and a lot of them played in both their games.
“So we have lads who have played five games in just over two weeks, and travelled from here, there and everywhere.
“I think that maybe caught up with us, so we utilised the whole squad today.”
With Rangers sitting in the relegation zone, this looked like a home banker but with also the potential for a big banana skin at the same time.
“We said pre-match that every Championship game offers a new set of challenges and it was no different today,” reflected the Watford boss.
“They like to play football the proper way and if they get into a rhythm they are quite hard to break down.
“They are a well-coached team and we struggled to deal with that in the first half.
“Then in the second half we imposed ourselves and managed to play our way, and came on stronger.”
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