Stoke’s board are refusing to panic after dropping into the relegation zone, while manager Mark Hughes insists the club is not in “crisis”.

Yet the next four games could prove crucial to Hughes, as he faces mounting pressure from supporters and the greatest challenge of his four-and-a-half year reign.

After this chastening defeat against a Bournemouth team with four successive away defeats before Saturday, Stoke will now face Watford, Leicester, Brighton and Crystal Palace.

It promises to prove a pivotal sequence for Hughes, who can at least take solace in the fact that Peter Coates remains the most sensible chairman in the Premier League. Coates has only employed two managers since returning to the club in 2006.

The problems are piling up for Hughes, however, who has many players badly out of form and a team that cannot stop leaking soft goals.