Tony Pulis has urged West Bromwich Albion's financial backers to hand over the funds required to strengthen his squad in order to 'give the club a lift'.

The Baggies have enjoyed a good season on the whole in the Premier League, sitting eighth in the table and on course to better their previous best finish from 2012-13.

Results have started to go downhill in recent weeks, however, with Saturday's 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur their fourth defeat in six outings in all competitions.

Pulis is now desperate to bring in some new faces this month, having already missed out on Morgan Schneiderlin, who instead opted to join Everton in a deal worth an initial £20m.

"We need to bring players in," the Daily Mail quotes him as saying. "We're desperately disappointed that we didn't get Schneiderlin. He's gone to Everton which was disappointing for us.

"We have to improve and everyone knows that. It's always tough doing business when you're outside the top six. We need a lift and not just the players. I think everybody around the place [needs a lift] by bringing a couple of good players in. That's important. The club has to do it."

West Brom, out of the FA Cup following defeat to Derby County last week, return to action with a home match against Sunderland next Saturday.