HORNETS BOSS IN CONFIDENT MOOD
Mark Platt 24 January 2005
Watford boss Ray Lewington has revealed his side is brimming with confidence ahead of Tuesday night's Carling Cup semi-final second leg at Vicarage Road.
The Championship side turned in a commendable performance at Anfield a fortnight ago and Lewington is optimistic that the Hornets can overturn the 1-0 first leg deficit on home soil.
"We gave them a real scare and that gives us confidence," he says. "From the players point of view, when they saw the team sheet and realised they were playing their full side, there were probably one or two of them who got a little bit nervous because of the damage a side like that can do to you - but they came off after 90 minutes kicking themselves because they had lost.
"We had chances, and our general play was as a good as theirs. So we learnt that we don't have to go out there and fear them. Sometimes you beat yourselves by thinking the opposition are so good; you don't get near them and they end up having a stroll.
"If we do the right things and everyone is playing to their maximum, then we can cause problems. We just have to have that little bit of luck on the night to get back into the tie again."
Despite the fact that Rafael Benitez opted to rest some of his senior players for last week's FA Cup tie at Burnley, Lewington is fully expecting to face a full-strength Reds XI at Vicarage Road.
He adds: "I was going to watch the Burnley game, then someone relayed to me what the side was, and immediately we knew it was not relevant to our thinking. It is of no relevance to us, because it will be nowhere near the side. We might as well have got out our tape from when we played them at Anfield, because that will include more of the team they will play."
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