Nigel Pearson says Watford cannot rely on relegation rivals continuing to slip up to keep the Hornets in the Premier League.
Watford fell to a second consecutive defeat on Sunday as Southampton cruised to a 3-1 win at Vicarage Road thanks to a brace from Danny Ings and a James Ward-Prowse free-kick.
The Hornets are lacking cohesion and confidence going forward, while sloppy errors at the back made it easy for the Saints.
Bournemouth and West Ham, Watford's two closest rivals, are also yet to win since the restart but now have a game in hand on Pearson's side each, though the former Leicester boss insists it is still in their hands.
"We were second best for too long," Pearson said. "You can't concede goals, like we have, give gifts to the opponents. It makes the job harder.
"We have to go back to showing a cohesion as a group of people. At the moment it is frustrating, because we are not achieving the performances we know we are capable of.
"We started the second half better but we gave ourselves too much to do.
"It is about us approaching games with the positive intent, positive mindset, showing more support for each other on the pitch. The players are not happy themselves with performances and we played against an efficient side.
"You can't forget it. We have games left in which it is in our own hands to make sure we secure our future in the Premier League. No one is going to do it for us."
Pearson was with the trio of Andre Gray, Nathaniel Chalobah and Domingos Quina after they were dropped for breaching lockdown ahead of the game, though Pearson refused to comment.
