Alan Pardew has described West Bromwich Albion's late 2-1 loss at Bournemouth as "heartbreaking" and acknowledges how "hurtful" it was for the club's fans and players.
Jay Rodriguez looked to have set the Baggies up for only their fourth Premier League victory of the season when he opened the scoring early in the second half.
However, the visitors lost Jonny Evans to injury in the final 15 minutes and the ensuing defensive reshuffle cost them dearly.
Jordon Ibe equalised for the Cherries in the 77th minute before Junior Stanislas converted a superb free kick one minute from time to leave Albion 10 points adrift at the foot of the table.
"It is so hurtful for our fans and our players," Pardew told BBC Sport. "We have almost done most things really well. That free-kick really did hurt us, but we should have done better for the equaliser.
"We were not expecting to lose Jonny [Evans], he was cramping up and we had to take him off, that unsettled us and they got the equaliser. We created chances right from the start of the game and for the players in there, after seeing their effort, it is so heartbreaking.
"This was an opportunity to just get a win and get our confidence up, instead we have had a really hurtful blow. The team deserved more than they got today. It is really hard on our players, it was an unbelievable effort and we have nothing to show for it."
West Brom's losing run in the league now stretches to seven games.
