Stoke City boss Mark Robins says it "doesn't feel good" to have dropped out of the promotion places in the Championship after five defeats in six matches.
That poor run has seen the Potters fall from second spot down to eighth ahead of Swansea City's visit to the bet365 Stadium on Saturday (12:30 GMT).
Although frustrated, Robins says being only one point off seventh is a reason to remain positive.
"We're going through a really, really tough patch at the moment," he told BBC Radio Stoke.
"After the start we've made this is a patch where you knew it could come but you hope it didn't and you can keep picking up the points and we haven't done that.