'We need to improve if we want to keep our level'

Story byBBCSat, January 10, 2026 at 8:40 PM UTC·1 min readWatford boss Javi Gracia has said that side need to improve if they are going to "keep their level in the Championship" after a 5-1 thumping against Bristol City that saw them exit the FA Cup."Before the game, I spoke with the players and I explained to them how important this competition [the FA Cup] is for me," Gracia told BBC Radio Three Counties. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"The good memories I had after my experience of arriving at the FA Cup final [with Watford in 2019]."The team wanted it but the first half we competed better than in the second. The first half we had some chances that we didn't take and the opponent scored their goals."After that, in the second half, we didn't compete how we have to."I don't really know what happened in the second half but we conceded. We were soft defending, we conceded many chances for the opponent.