Mark Hughes expressed his frustration but vowed Stoke would keep building after they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by West Brom courtesy of a stoppage-time Salomon Rondon equaliser.
Rondon's header at the death, cancelling out Joe Allen's 73rd-minute finish, denied the Potters what would have been their first Premier League win of the season.
Boss Hughes admitted afterwards it felt like his men had suffered another defeat to add to those from their previous four league matches.
But he also acknowledged the losing streak being over and Stoke moving off the bottom of the table -- up one place, with two points from six games -- were positive things, and stressed the performance had been encouraging.