Bloodied Albion defender Jonas Olsson today issued a Baggies battle cry and dismissed national pundits who have written off their Premier League survival hopes.

The Swedish defender, sporting six stitches in his bottom lip after an elbow from Bolton’s Kevin Davies, insisted he “genuinely believes” the Baggies can stay in the top flight.

Olsson heard former Arsenal and Villa defender and occasional TV analyst Martin Keown all-but write off Albion’s chances when the pair appeared together at Pensnett School yesterday. But defiant Olsson is refusing to throw in the towel.

“I still genuinely believe we have a really good chance,” said Olsson. “I think we are playing well and just looking for that win to really get into contact with the teams above us. If we take four or six points from the next two games then we are really in contention again and everyone else will start to feel us coming. It would add some pressure to their games. I still believe we can stay up.”

Olsson and Keown met Pensnett youngsters during a visit as part of the Premier League’s Communicating for Success programme, a partnership between the club’s community programme, BT and the Football Foundation. And during the event an honest Keown said: “At the moment I think Albion probably will go down. The fans want to get behind the team but it’s a two-way thing and they are finding it difficult. It’s not over yet but it’s going to be very difficult.”

But Olsson remained upbeat. He said: “You can’t close your eyes from reality or facts. We are bottom of the table and if you ask someone who is going to go down they are going to say us, of course. That is just the reality.

“But within the club and in the changing room we genuinely believe we can do it.”

Meanwhile, Olsson is hoping his painful lip will have healed in time for the meeting with Stoke at The Hawthorns in 10 days.

He said: “I have been eating ice cream for three days. I have had six stitches after getting an elbow from Davies, unintentionally, I think. It is a contact sport and you take the knocks. It is part of the game.”