Stoke City midfielder Joe Allen has insisted that his team will overcome their poor start to the 2017-18 campaign.

The Potters have lost four of their last five Premier League matches, while a return of just eight points from nine fixtures has left them in 17th position in the table - level on points with 18th-placed Everton.

Allen, however, has insisted that Stoke have the "experience" and "ability" to climb up the table as the season develops.

"We're confident that, with the ability we have, over a period of time, it's going to be enough to get ourselves back up the table, in a position that's more fitting of this club," he told the Stoke Sentinel.

"We've got so much experience in that dressing room. We've been here before, we know what to expect and that's going to help us. We haven't got lads in here that will be affected by bad results and lose confidence.

"In that sense, it's only a matter of time before we get the ball rolling and get a run of games together where we pick up a lot more points."

Stoke will look to bounce back from last weekend's 2-1 defeat at home to Bournemouth when they travel to Watford on Saturday afternoon.