Watford boss Tom Cleverley has warned against over-burdening striker Kwadwoh Baah with expectation in his first full season as a Championship player.
The 21-year-old German scored his first senior goal for the club in a Carabao Cup game against MK Dons at the start of the campaign.
But he has yet to break his duck in the league despite Cleverley saying last week that in one-against-one situations, he was one of the best at their level.
“Everyone is expecting a lot from Baah. But he’s a player that only scored a couple of goals in 20-odd appearances in League One last year,” Cleverley told BBC Three Counties Radio.
Those goals came during a loan spell at Burton Albion, having previously spent time away from Vicarage Road at Fortuna Dusseldorf.
“We’re nurturing him and developing him,” said Cleverley.
“Feet on the ground, all of us. I’m confident we can get the best out of him and his potential but a lot’s happened very quickly for KB and we need to remember that.”
Baah was given a lone striker role in the midweek game at Preston, which ended in a 3-0 defeat for the Hornets.
“He played there in pre-season a lot. A lot of his best actions against Manchester City and Sunderland were coming from central high positions,” said the Watford head coach.
“We targeted his pace against their back-line, which lacks a bit of pace, as an area in which we could really dominate but unfortunately it didn’t flourish into his best performance.”
Watford are at home to Middlesbrough on Saturday in their final game before the latest international break and Cleverley believes the club has a “good environment” to encourage a more positive display.
He added: “That’s the kind of environment where we find solutions, not excuses. We don’t point fingers at people and we knuckle down and sort it out.
“The thing I’m most disappointed about is we showed no authority (against Preston) to take control of the game in the first half, or ambition to show we’re a top team and want to be fighting at the business end of the table.
“I’m just as annoyed with the first half as I am with the half we conceded three goals in.
“Next time we need to identify that when there’s a game we can take by the scruff of the neck, we need to do so. We need to play without fear, to play with risk, because that’s what top teams do.”
