Watford boss Walter Mazzarri has admitted to being disappointed by the manner in which his side allowed West Ham United to score their leveller in Saturday evening's 1-1 draw at Vicarage Road.

The Hornets were unable to hold on to a lead given to them by Troy Deeney from the spot just three minutes in, as Andre Ayew was alert to tuck home from the rebound after Michail Antonio struck both posts.

Mazzarri, who also lost Mauro Zarate to a knee injury, feels that his side only have themselves to blame for failing to pick up a third win in four outings after letting their opponents back into the game when ahead.

"I didn't like how we went down in the second half," he is quoted as saying by BBC Sport. "We also committed some silly mistakes that we can avoid. It's not acceptable to allow them a goal on the counter-attack when you are winning 1-0.

"The injury didn't allow me to make all the substitutions I wanted. This is our first season and this season is to prepare and to grow. Year by year the objective is to make the next step forward."

Watford, who have kept only one clean sheet in their past 16 Premier League matches, are now 12th in the Premier League standings.