Jonny Evans: West Brom still believe

Albion slumped to a fifth straight defeat in the Premier League on Saturday for the first time in more than seven years.

It has left them eight points from safety with nine games remaining and many supporters have now accepted their fate.

But Evans, who thanked the sold-out away end at Watford for their incredible support, says the team still has faith they can pull off the improbable.

"The most important thing for us is that we still believe," he said. "We're working hard. You could see that.

"The fans were receptive to that and it gave us a lift. They appreciated the work rate we put in today. We thank them for travelling."

Albion switched to a five-man midfield for the first time in a while after Chris Brunt had urged head coach Alan Pardew to ditch his 4-4-2 formation in a dressing room rant after the Huddersfield defeat.

After conceding two or more goals for six games in a row, the main aim was to keep a clean sheet, but 13 minutes from time a mix-up between Brunt and Grzegorz Krychowiak gifted Watford the ball before Troy Deeney raced clear and grabbed the winner.

"We had a lot of meetings in the week about how to be more secure behind the ball, stop teams breaking on us as much," said Evans.

"But when you're pushing to win the game, things become a bit more stretched. Gaps start to appear and they got the goal.

"It's difficult to take," he added. "At half time we were pretty pleased with certain aspects of our performance.

"I really felt like we could go out and win the game in the second half. But once they got the goal we found it difficult. They defended well to keep the clean sheet."

Pardew echoed his skipper's gratitude towards the fans, and said the team would need it at The Hawthorns for the upcoming game with Leicester.

"The mood of our stadium next week can only be one thing for us," he said. "Hopefully they'll stay with us. We appreciated the 2,000 that travelled, they came in in a positive mode for us.

"The only chance we've got is to stick together and I said that to the players after.

"Hopefully the fans stay with us and next week we reward them with a win."