Stoke in a safety fight, admits boss

Stoke must face up to the reality that they are currently in the midst of a relegation battle, according to boss Mark Hughes.

The Potters have taken just five points from a possible 24 and unravelled again late on against West Ham on Saturday in a 3-0 home loss.

Fan unrest was evident in the latter stages as chants o f ‘Hughes out’ and ‘sacked in the morning’ were chanted by some fans, though chairman Peter Coates has stressed he will not press the panic button.

Hughes (pictured) guided Stoke to three successive top-half finishes before they were 13th last term, and he has no desire to see them toil in the lower reaches for the rest of the campaign.

“We’re in this position and maybe it has given us a little bit of clarity,” he said.

“My view is that we’re better than what we’re showing in terms of results.

“We’ve got to get ourselves out of this.

“We’re in a difficult situation, one that I haven’t been in since I’ve been here.

“I don’t intend to be involved in a relegation battle, it’s not what we should be doing, but (we have) that clarity of understanding (that) actually we are in one.

“I know the league, this group of players and what they can produce on good days.

“Saturday wasn’t a great day but we’ll get a tune out of them and we’ll be better.”