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Stoke vs West Brom: Could it be the last chance for Mark Hughes?

Mark Hughes is a manager on the brink.

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Mark Hughes

Five defeats in six have left Stoke teetering on the edge of the drop zone.

Keep up their losing habit tomorrow and they will fall into it.

Defeat alone may not be enough to cost Hughes his job because chairman Peter Coates is notoriously patient.

But it is the manner of the performance that will be just as important as the result.

Stoke haven’t just lost games this season, they’ve been obliterated.

Manchester City put seven past them, Spurs scored five, Chelsea got four, and last time out West Ham managed three.

The locals are growing restless and the calls for a change are growing louder.

Six clubs have already sacked their managers this season and Stoke are favourites to become the seventh.

Hughes, though, insists he still has the board’s backing.

“The support I have from the owners if first class because they’re football people who understand the peaks and troughs,” he said. “They’ve been through it as much as I’ve had.

“My predecessor had seven years, I’m in my fifth year and that tells you they support their managers.

“There are a lot of dismissals at the moment and what people have to understand is that sport and football mostly is not a straight line in terms of progress.

“There are ups and downs and you have to manage your way through it.

“You need people to understand the circumstances. There are a number of factors which influence whether you win, lose or draw.

“Injuries, referees’ decisions … ones that you’re not allowed to mention in case people interpret them as excuses.

“I’ve had periods like this before. You have to face them full on and get on with it, not feel sorry for yourself.”

Hughes would love to ease the pressure with victory over the Baggies, because he’s never seen eye-to-eye with Albion about Saido Berahino’s £12m transfer in January after the striker’s eight-week drugs ban.

Incredibly, Berahino still hasn’t scored for the Potters, and the striker once on the cusp of the England squad now gone nearly two years without a goal.

In fact, his last goal came against an Alan Pardew side when Albion beat Crystal Palace 3-2 in February 2016.

Whether that’s enough to persuade Hughes to throw him in, remains to be seen.

But the Potters boss is expecting Chelsea loanee Kurt Zouma to be available for selection after responding well to hamstring treatment.

“Let’s see Saturday how I feel, but I think so,” said Zouma.

“I want to play and I need to play. I am not here to be injured. I tried to play the most games I can, that’s why I came here.”