Stoke City chairman Peter Coates has said that he is "obviously concerned" about the club's recent run of form.

The Potters have lost five of their last six Premier League matches to drop into 17th position in the table.

Mark Hughes's future as head coach is said to be under the spotlight ahead of this weekend's key game against fellow strugglers West Bromwich Albion.

Coates has admitted that he has concerns over Stoke's run of form, but the 79-year-old does not believe that his team have been getting the rub of the green.

"We are obviously concerned. We know we need to win games. Without making excuses, I don't think we've had an awful lot going for us of late," the Stoke Sentinel quotes Coates as saying.

"If you look at the first West Ham goal, which is crucial, whatever you say, in the lead up to their penalty we have hit the post, Xherdan Shaqiri could have then won a foul and then their player has dived in the box to win the penalty.

"You begin to suspect that it's not going to be your day when things like that happen against you. However, we have got to come back from these reverses. We have got to stop leaking goals and be better defensively. It is how you come back from these setbacks that is so important."

Stoke have lost 10 of their 18 Premier League matches during the 2017-18 campaign.