Watford's run of six consecutive victories in the Championship was brought to an end yesterday as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Middlesbrough.

The Hornets were seemingly on course to secure all three points at the Riverside Stadium following Ismaila Sarr's first-half strike.

However, Middlesbrough clinched a draw in the 78th minute as Yannick Bolasie headed past Watford goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann.

As a result of this clash, the Hornets extended their advantage over fellow promotion hopefuls Brentford to 10 points.

However, the Bees will close this particular gap if they beat strugglers Birmingham City this evening.

Making reference to the club's performance against Middlesbrough, Hornets manager Xisco Munoz has admitted that his side will need to improve if they are to get back to winning ways on Friday against Reading at Vicarage Road.

Speaking to the Watford Observer, the Spaniard said: "We know it is difficult to take points in the Championship and believe me, right now I am only thinking about what we can work on to get better for the next game.

"I think our team has very good numbers, and we need to keep going, play with the same ambition in the next games."

Munoz later added: "I remember what I always tell you when we win, I enjoy it for 20 minutes and then I am working for the next game."

With just six league games left to play this season, Watford know that they will be able to achieve automatic promotion to the Premier League if they win five of these fixtures.

GIVEMESPORT's Joshua Cole says...

Although Munoz has every right to be frustrated with the fact that his side were unable to hold on to victory yesterday, they still created enough chances to put the game to bed.

Therefore, by working on their finishing in training before their showdown with Reading later this week, Watford will fancy their chances of defeating Veljko Paunovic's side.

Whilst the likes of Brentford and Swansea City will be determined to take advantage of any potential slip-ups by Watford this month, it would be somewhat of a shock if they do suffer a drop-off in performance levels at this stage of the campaign.

Providing that the likes of Sarr, Ken Sema, Andre Gray and Joao Pedro are all able to stay fit, the Hornets' firepower could prove to be a defining factor in their push for a top-two finish as this quartet has scored a combined total of 29 goals so far this season.