Xisco Munoz challenged his Watford players to maintain the standards they showed in the crushing 6-0 defeat of Bristol City at Vicarage Road.

Munoz’s side put aside their recent dip in form to register an emphatic win that moved the fourth-placed Hornets to within six points of the Sky Bet Championship’s automatic promotion places.

Ken Sema and Ismaila Sarr both scored twice, with Will Hughes and Philip Zinckernagel also on target.

The victory was achieved without Troy Deeney, who remained on the bench, and Munoz instead the win was a reflection of the spirit within his squad.

“I think this is our team spirit, we need to continue with this,” said the manager.

“We need to continue to understand that all the players are important in our squad. I’m sure we will come back to some bad moments. This is true in football.

“The most important is continuing to work hard, staying together, and playing with this ambition.

“Of course, today we will enjoy, we will drink one beer at home, sure. But after 20 minutes we think about the next game.”

Watford came into the game without a win but Sarr, Hughes and Sema’s brace made it 4-0 before the break, with Sarr and Zinckernagel striking after the break.

Munoz added: “Sometimes you have difficult moments. What I can say today is congratulations to the guys because the guys played a brilliant, brilliant game.

“It’s only three points, we need to continue. In two days we have another game and we need to get better every day, because if not, maybe it’s not enough.”

Bristol City manager Dean Holden branded his side’s performance unacceptable and demanded improvement when they face Reading on Tuesday.

He said: “It’s a horrible day for everyone connected. It’s a feeling that sits right in your gut. And to lose 6-0 is unacceptable.

“We were outclassed by a far better opponent today. We showed too many lapses in concentration to go 3-0 down early in the game. And then it’s a tough ask from there.

“Everybody is really on the floor and it’s a really bad day. And it’s a day as a player you’ll never forget. It’s the sort of result everybody will look at and we have questions to answer now.”

Holden added: “There is no doubt the Premier League teams from last season have huge depth in their squads. But that’s not the reason we lost 6-0 today. We weren’t at our best with the ball or without the ball.

“We are lucky we have a game very quickly on Tuesday and we have to show a response.”