Watford manager Adrian Boothroyd has admitted that it is "do or die" for his side's Premier League hopes as they prepare for the second leg of their Championship play-off semi-final at Hull.
Boothroyd's side were favourites to return to the top flight at the first attempt when they found themselves eight points clear at the top of the table in November.
But a dreadful run of form of one win in the last 15 games - including Sunday's 2-0 first-leg defeat at home to Phil Brown's side - has left the Hornets staring at another season in the Championship.
But Boothroyd - who took the club into the top flight with a play-off win over Leeds in 2006 - is confident that they can regain their form to shock the Tigers tomorrow night.
He said: "We have to make sure that Wednesday evening after the game we have given our fans something to cheer about and we have given our all.
"It is do or die for us over the next 90, 120 or 140 minutes.
"Since I've been here as a team we've gone from being the hunter who is pushing to take scalps to being the team that is the hunted.
"It is a very different scenario and it takes a different set of mental skills to overcome both.
"We have been in both positions but now we are back in our favourite role as the hunter."
Watford found themselves in a similar position to Hull two years ago when goals from Marlon King, Ashley Young and Matthew Spring gave them a 3-0 first-leg win at Crystal Palace.
Boothroyd admits that defending a lead at home in the second leg presented him with problems and insists that Brown has everything to lose.
He said: "From my experience of being 3-0 up over Palace it is an awful situation because you have absolutely everything to lose coming into the home leg.
"It makes you nervous, it makes you think what if?
"And it is not so long ago that Phil was playing in a Blackpool team that was 2-0 up over Bradford in the play-offs and Bradford beat them 3-0 at Bloomfield Road.
"So nothing is impossible and he will know that."
The Hornets will hand a late fitness test to defender Danny Shittu after he strained a hamstring in the 2-0 defeat while captain John Eustace is available as his red card was rescinded after a successful appeal to the Football Association.
Top scorer Darius Henderson will return to lead the line after a one-match ban.
