Claudio Ranieri wants Watford players to be ‘ice men’ in battle for survival

Claudio Ranieri says his Watford players must transform into “ice men” this winter if they are to win their fight for Premier League survival.

The Hornets head into Wednesday night’s clash with Burnley at Turf Moor reeling from four straight top-flight defeats including Friday night’s shattering late loss to Brentford.

And Ranieri wants his players to recover their nerve as they head to face a side who sit directly below them in 18th place in the table.

Referencing his side’s 2-1 loss in west London, Ranieri said: “I think we played well and created chances but in the end they were desperate to win and in that moment we have to be ice men on the pitch.

“I don’t think we were nervous, but we were not too much focused. We must be more calm and reflective.

“In every match you have to fight to try to win but you have to be intelligent and when you can’t win you have to make sure you can’t lose.”

Ranieri has received a blow with the news that defender Christian Kabasele has been ruled out for a number of weeks after sustaining a knock in training.

However there is better news for Ranieri as Francisco Sierralta and Adam Masina have returned to his squad following hamstring and thigh injuries respectively, and could feature.

Ranieri is expecting a tough fight against the Clarets, a team he admires for their fighting qualities, and acknowledged the importance of game against a team likely to be one of their rivals in the race to avoid the drop.

“Our approach is always the same and we won’t change our philosophy,” added Ranieri. “I know it will be a very fantastic battle, because this is a team that fights in every situation until the whistle.

“We have our philosophy and Burnley have theirs. We know very well what Burnley will do and we are working to try to create our chances to score goals and to save our goal.”