Charlie Adam says players must step up to Stoke relegation battle

Defeat to Aston Villa has Potters in real trouble

Christian Benteke celebrates scoring for Aston Villa against Stoke (GETTY IMAGES)

Stoke midfielder Charlie Adam has warned his team-mates they must respond quickly to their worsening predicament.

The Potters have slipped into Barclays Premier League relegation danger after yet another poor result on Saturday as Aston Villa won 3-1 at the Britannia Stadium.

Tony Pulis' men have won just one of their last 13 games and the frustration of fans was obvious with booing throughout a lacklustre performance.

When asked if he could understand the concern of the supporters, Adam said: "Of course I can. At the end of the day you don't want to see your team where they are.

"As a group of players we don't want to be there but it is just not happening for us in the latter part of the season.

"It is only us that can change it, nobody else. We are the ones in control on the pitch. It is up to us now to get out of it."

With some of the teams below them finding form, pressure is increasing on the Potters.

Adam has told his colleagues they must be able to deal with it.

The 27-year-old Scot said: "I don't feel the tension.

"At the end of the day, when you are playing at a club like this, playing in the Premier League, you need to be able to handle the pressure.

"If you can't handle the pressure it is difficult to be a footballer.

"For us it is about who can handle it in the coming weeks. It is going to be a few interesting weeks coming up.

"We are looking forward to it because it is a good challenge."

Adam experienced relegation with Blackpool two seasons but feels the mentality is different at Stoke as the Seasiders had been expected to struggle.

Adam, signed from Liverpool last August, said: "We are not thinking about relegation - this is a club that has been in the Premier League five or six years. Relegation is not on the mind.

"We are going through a bad patch, that is there to be seen.

"We are the only people that can pick it up. Over the next six or seven games we need to win some football games.

"If we can do that we will be fine.

"We need to get back to what we were doing in the early part of the season - getting after teams, forcing the game on them.

"Hopefully in the next few games we can do that and get some positive results."

PA