Wigan Athletic manager Malky Mackay has claimed that he "can't be too hard" on his players following their 2-1 defeat at Watford.

The Latics were beaten for the third successive time in the Championship on Saturday thanks to a late loss at Vicarage Road.

However, Mackay believes that his side were unlucky to come away from the game without anything to show for their efforts.

"In the second half I probably wasn't happy with a point because I thought we had put them on the back foot," he told BBC Sport.

"So to lose a sloppy goal, like we did in the second half, is disappointing. But I can't be too hard on the players because of the overall way they played."

Wigan remain in the relegation zone in the Championship table, four points adrift of safety, and are without a win since Mackay's appointment.