Watford manager Quique Flores has admitted that his side left themselves with too much to do in Wednesday evening's 3-1 defeat to West Ham United.
The Hornets trailed by three goals heading into the final 30 minutes at Upton Park, before Sebastian Prodl pulled back what would prove to be a mere consolation.
Speaking after the match Flores, who also saw Nordin Amrabat dismissed late on for a second bookable offence, defended his decision to rotate his side ahead of next weekend's FA Cup semi-final.
"We have had to use a lot of players recently and the plan was to try to conserve and be fit for the weekend. Practically all of the players will be fit for the weekend," he is quoted as saying by BBC Sport.
"The application was very good from us. We conceded really early and then it was very tough to play against a tough team like West Ham as they had confidence early. In the second half, we reacted really well but not good enough to reduce three goals."
Watford remain three points off the top half, albeit having now played one game more than 10th-placed Chelsea.
Daniel Lewis
