Chris Wilder was keen to accentuate the positives after Watford’s 1-0 defeat at Hull left them six points adrift of the Sky Bet Championship play-offs.
Wilder heavily criticised his players following their midweek defeat at home to Cardiff, but felt the Hornets deserved at least a point at the MKM Stadium.
Their former midfielder Ozan Tufan scored the winning goal from the penalty spot after 25 minutes.
Wilder said: “That was a typical Championship game and I thought we deserved something from it.
“I thought we did what we could to try to get into the game and I thought the attitude was good. I was honest with them after the game and I told them that I thought we deserved something from it.
“I had no complaints with the penalty decision. When it’s not going for you, these things happen. We just needed a big moment and it didn’t come.”
Watford started well, but that early promise offered a false dawn for supporters hoping that they would respond from their awful 3-1 defeat at Vicarage Road on Wednesday.
They were also outsmarted by a well-worked move that led to Tufan’s spot-kick. Youngster Harry Vaughan’s deft back-heel towards Regan Slater lured Ryan Andrews into a careless foul and Tufan made no mistake with a perfect penalty.
Watford had their moments, not least when Karl Darlow brilliantly saved late on from an Ismaila Sarr lob.
Wilder was also adamant his team deserved a second-half penalty when Jean Michael Seri was alleged to have handled inside the box.
He said: “How we didn’t got a penalty I’ll never know. There were nine players around the referee. There was too much of a straight-away reaction after it (for not to be given).
“I’ve said enough about the team, regarding the future. But now it’s head down and concentrate on the next game.
“We got the shape right and the press was right. Maybe they’ve dodged a bullet in terms of them having a penalty.
“I saw a team that wanted something from the game, which, in my opinion, was a big positive for me. Maybe a bit more quality inside the final third was missing.
“There’s still loads of things, but from a character and attitude point of view it was a decent effort.
“It’s a testing time for them and they have to show through the adversity what they’re all about.
“There’s still six big points to play for. We’ve got a big game at the Stadium of Light (at Sunderland) so we have to get ready for that.”
Counterpart Liam Rosenior was most impressed with Hull’s defensive resilience.
He said: “We weren’t at our free-flowing best, but what I was delighted with was a seventh clean sheet in eight.
“You need two sides to the game to be successful in the Championship: you need to play and you need to grind it out.
“I couldn’t be happier with the attitude of the players.
“It’s a real challenge to play three games in a week and for them, pretty much with the same team, to win a tough game like this means the world.”
Rosenior added: “The players really wanted to rectify what happened in midweek (the 3-1 defeat at Middlesbrough) and they did that.
“I said to the players at half-time that I wanted more and we got that.”
On Darlow, who continues to excel on loan from Newcastle, Rosenior said: “He’s been magnificent since he came in.
“He’s loving working here. Hopefully we’ll have discussions in the summer about his long-term future.”
Vaughan also caught the eye of Rosenior, who said: “I love giving young players an opportunity and Harry is a manager’s dream – he loves to learn.”
