Mark Hughes admitted some Stoke fans' unrest at their latest defeat was "understandable'' as the pressure mounted on him following a 3-0 loss to West Ham.
The heat has been cranked up on the Potters boss, who heard chants of "Hughes out" and "sacked in the morning" at the bet365 Stadium as his team suffered a fifth defeat in six to a Hammers side who have taken seven points in eight days under David Moyes.
Stoke were only trailing to a contentiously-awarded penalty in the first half before Marko Arnautovic haunted his old club by doubling the lead, and substitute Diafra Sakho added a third to leave Hughes' men just above the relegation zone.
A week after fans at a train station had vented their anger at Hughes' squad following a 5-1 thrashing by Tottenham, there was more displeasure among supporters, many of whom had been forced to wait outside the ground because of a delayed kick-off caused by a power outage.
"That's understandable,'' Hughes said of the discontent expressed in the stands late on. "Up to 75 minutes before the second goal, I thought the fans were absolutely magnificent, they were driving us on, totally behind us.
"Like ourselves on the bench, as soon as the second goal went in it took the wind out of our sails, you get a little bit anxious, a little bit angry then you get a response but for the most part I thought they were great.''
Hughes' mood was darkened by Mark Noble's 19th-minute penalty, given by referee Graham Scott despite Manuel Lanzini appearing to dive prior to making contact with a sliding Erik Pieters.
Lanzini could yet be retrospectively punished if a three-man panel deems he successfully conned the official, not that it will be of any benefit to Hughes.
"Whether or not he is or not, it doesn't help us,'' he added. "He's clearly dived. He's a clever player, he'll draw a foul or some kind of challenge but he wasn't clipped.
"Referees need to get match-defining decisions correct and he certainly didn't get that one correct.''