Pressure mounted on Mark Hughes last night after Manchester City conceded a late goal for the second consecutive week, to lose 2-1 against West Bromwich Albion, leaving his side in the relegation zone of the Barclays Premier League.

City, who appeared to have rescued a point with a goal by Felipe Caicedo seven minutes from time, are seemingly in freefall after a run of five points in their past nine matches. More defeats and Sheikh Mansour, the club owner, may be forced to make a change, with the transfer window opening next week. They have won only once away from home in the league this season, in August.

Garry Cook said recently that Hughes has the backing of the owners, but the club’s executive chairman has not gone so far as to say that he will remain in charge. “We are hurting at the moment as we didn’t expect to be in this situation,” Hughes said. “We have to feel confident that we can get out of it. We have to get the fundamentals right. No one anticipates or expected this situation. But speculation about my future is not new. I have had assurances and need to be positive. These are pragmatic people who understand that things don’t happen overnight. So time is what we all need – myself included. The expectation is huge, some people deal with it, others struggle.”

Hughes has mounting problems in attack. Already missing Robinho and Jô through injury, they will also be without Benjani Mwaruwari after he pulled up with a thigh injury in the second half. “Certain areas of the squad need to be strengthened but there is no guarantee that we will be able to get those players,” Hughes said.

Tony Mowbray suggested that Hughes does not have full say on transfers, such as the arrival of Robinho in the summer. “When Mark Hughes gets the quality in, he will win matches,” the West Brom manager said. “I think he has only bought one player [Jô]. But he potentially has a few hundred million to spend, so I can be confident and say that they will not be in the bottom half [at the end of the season].”