Defender Jonny Evans has claimed that West Bromwich Albion still have "hope" of remaining in the Premier League, despite revealing that there have been "a few tears" in the changing room.
The Baggies have lost their last seven matches in the top flight, and Alan Pardew's side currently sit 10 points adrift of safety in the league standings.
The latest setback came at Bournemouth, with the Cherries coming from behind to record a 2-1 victory, and Evans has admitted that the result was 'difficult to take'.
The 30-year-old is quoted by Sky Sports News as saying: "I think there is hope. Even after the Bournemouth game there was real disappointment in the changing room. It's not like we have got to the point where we have accepted relegation.
"A lot of people have been writing us off. I understand with the position we are in it will be very difficult to get out of. There were a few tears after the game at the weekend because going into that game there was a lot of hope and optimism that we would get something from it and try to turn the season around even at this late stage. We were upset.
"We were ahead and then the game swung in the last 15 minutes and I think it has been the story of our season. It's hard to take sometimes."
West Brom realistically need to win a minimum of five of their remaining seven matches in order to have a chance of avoiding relegation to the Championship.