The centre-back wanted to front up to apologise to supporters, while acknowledging that saying sorry is unlikely to temper the frustrations among a fanbase he knows has become used to the Hornets losing games in this fashion at the end of seasons.
Pollock said the end-of-season cycle “kills me” and that he is “ashamed” that supporters have become accustomed to the type of display the Hornets put in at the Kassam Stadium.
The 24-year-old was clear that it is the players – not coach Ed Still or anybody else at the club – who must take responsibility, with his anger and frustration evident as he spoke.
He said: “Firstly, I want to apologise to all the fans.
“I know that’s easily said but people are spending their hard-earned money and coming to support us.
“I can’t stress how much it hurts. I’ve been here five years now and this is probably the lowest point of my Watford career, seeing the fans like that.
“I know an apology will only go so far and it’s down to us on the pitch, but a game like that can’t go unspoken about.
“As a senior player, who’s trying to be a leader, you have to take accountability. That’s not good enough.
“We’re sorry. The fans don’t deserve that. For us to put that on show is not acceptable. For us to get bullied like that is not acceptable. We have to fix it.
“I’ll do everything in my power to help the lads be ready for the next game. There’s no messing about, no waiting, it has to be right for the next game.”
Mattie Pollock (Image: Alan Cozzi/Watford FC)
It should be stressed, Pollock was speaking from the heart and with real emotion post-match, evidently infuriated by yet another defeat in the final stretch of a campaign.
He described the “running theme” of seasons petering out in this way as “unacceptable”.
He said: “I have the same feeling as every fan, I hate the season fizzling out.
“It’s not acceptable. I feel ashamed that this happens towards the end of the season and the saddest part is that fans come to games expecting us to lose.
“It’s become too easy for us to be beaten by teams who just bully us. Football-wise we can go toe-to-toe with teams but if a team sticks it on us, we have to be able to roll our sleeves up and fight for the club.
“We’re falling short when it comes to what it means to play for Watford. I’m a northern lad, I’m brought up that you never roll over – you fight, you win the battle first.
“You’re only good players once you’ve won the battle.
“Nobody cares who can play well, it’s about who can win the fight. We have so much ability but we’re falling short.
“For fans to come here expecting us to lose is a disgrace.
“We were in the Premier League when I signed and I don’t want to play in the Championship for the rest of my life, half these players don’t want to either.
“We signed to come and play for one of the biggest teams in the league and we’re falling short. It’s so frustrating.”
— Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC) April 11, 2026
Pollock said head coach Ed Still is “brilliant” and has created a good feeling at the training ground.
He was clear it is the players letting him down, rather than vice versa.
Pollock said: “He [Still] has got us training, it’s energetic, he’s pushing a lot from us.
“We’re letting him down, he can only do so much. It’s when you step over the white line. It’s too easy to come here and get rolled over.
“We train hard, we work hard, the lads try hard. But on the pitch we’re letting people down, we’re letting the club down, we’re letting the fans down.
“There’s nothing more the manager can do.
“At some point us as players have to look at ourselves because it’s happening every season.
“You can change managers, you can change other people at the club, but ultimately if it keeps happening you have to look deeper than that.
“Oxford are fighting for their lives and you can see it, we stroll on the pitch. We can’t just think we’re going to get three points. It doesn’t work like that.
“For me, that’s where as a leader of the team it’s too easy for it to happen and I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure we don’t keep allowing this to happen.”