Roberto Pereyra and Andre Gray put the Hornets firmly in the ascendancy inside the opening half hour, and Javi Gracia’s side could have been out of sight by the break had Troy Deeney converted from the spot.

However, Martin Dúbravka kept out the frontman’s penalty, providing a platform for Newcastle to build from after the break. Pérez pulled one back ten minutes into the second half, applying the finishing touch to Javier Manquillo’s cross to register his eighth goal of the season.

The Magpies knocked on the door late on, with Watford content to sit back and play on the counter attack. However, time ran out for Rafa Benítez’s side, leaving Pérez to reflect on a damaging first 45 minutes.

“We cannot perform as we did in the first half. We have to realise that we have to keep playing as we have done until the end. The first half was not good enough,” he told nufc.co.uk. “We cannot concede two, and Martin made a great save, or it could have been 3-0 at the half. That means we are doing the wrong things.”

Asked as to what Benítez’s half-time message was for his troops, Pérez replied: “The truth.

“To be honest, what we showed in the first half was that we were on holiday already. We were not pushing as we should or pressing as we should. The shape of the team wasn’t good enough – it was too long, and there was a lot of space between the lines. That is why they were so comfortable in the first half.

“In the second half, we had to push – as we did. We got the early goal, which gave us some confidence. We kept pushing but at the end we couldn’t pick up any points.”

Newcastle take on Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley on Wednesday, before rounding off their campaign at home to Chelsea next Sunday.

Having already lost their last two prior to their trip to Vicarage Road, Pérez acknowledged that the Magpies must improve quickly if they are to prevent a largely encouraging season from petering out with a whimper.

“It’s been a great season but now you have the feeling we’re going to finish it as we shouldn’t,” he said. “We have done a great job, but we have to be ambitious in trying to keep playing as we have done these last couple of months. We could have been eighth or ninth in the table, but we aren’t. We’ve had three defeats in a row, and we have to think about it. We are not doing things as we did before, so now we have to try to do it in the next two games against top sides.”