Stoke boss Mark Hughes denies crisis after Bournemouth defeat: 'We've been here before. Don't worry'

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The words were delivered as straight as always — a call for faith, an acknowledgement that Stoke are 'in a bit of a situation' and a promise that Mark Hughes can and will steer his team in the direction of a fourth successive ninth-place finish.

Delivering a message like that from a visit to the Premier League's relegation zone, which turned out to be brief thanks to Everton, requires strong self-belief, especially after another horrid defeat.

'We'll be fine,' Hughes said more than once during post-match questioning in which he also brought up the 'c' word first, to dismiss unspoken suggestions that Stoke were a club in crisis.

Mark Hughes vowed to steer Stoke back up the table after they were beaten by Bournemouth

Junior Stanislas slots his spot-kick past Jack Butland to give the Cherries a two-goal lead

The manager has a plateful of problems, many of which would have disappeared had Bournemouth been beaten on Saturday. Instead they will be piling up nicely for Watford next weekend.

Hughes has the most patient and pragmatic of bosses in Peter Coates so it is the grumbles of supporters which need addressing urgently. With wins.

'They are a little bit anxious at the moment and I can understand that,' Hughes added. 'I think they are realistic as well. They should have confidence in the group of players we have.

'They have a management team that has been in these situations before and been successful so I don't think they need to worry. It's about letting good people get on with their jobs and coming through these periods.

Stoke skipper Ryan Shawcross had an afternoon to forget at the Bet365 Stadium on Saturday

'It's not a crisis in my view. We are in a situation in terms of league position, but we do have good games coming up. We'll be fine.'

In Hughes's defence he has had key players injured. It is also worth mentioning that a win here would have seen Stoke go just four points behind fifth-placed Watford such are the fine lines of the Premier League.

Ryan Shawcross, back after a lay-off, was off the pace when he brought down Benik Afobe to concede a penalty converted by Junior Stanislas. It was two minutes after Andrew Surman's opener.

Stoke defender Glen Johnson was targeted by his own supporters for a lacklustre display

Glen Johnson was targeted by supporters for a lacklustre showing and boos greeted the final whistle even though Stoke's performance had gone up several notches, Mame Biram Diouf had scored and the home side should have had a penalty.

'Our crowd at times vent their frustrations. There were a couple of moments when Glen maybe didn't pick the right option but it wasn't for any lack of endeavour,' Hughes added.

Not surprisingly, big smiles from Eddie Howe greeted Bournemouth's second League win of the season.

He said: 'Nice football teams often have a label of being nice guys. Can they defend for long periods? Can they be resilient? It's pleasing to see us come through this test.'