Sunderland's under-pressure manager Paolo di Canio is convinced one win could spark an upturn in the club's fortunes.
The Wearsiders' dismal start to the season continued as a 3-0 defeat at West Brom left them bottom of the Barclays Premier League with just one point from five games.
Di Canio approached frustrated fans after the final whistle and gestured they should keep their chins up. He received a mixed reaction but stood his ground to convey a message that he is determined to fight on.
The volatile Italian argues that his much-changed squad needs time to gel but believes a good result in the coming week - against Peterborough in the Capital One Cup or Liverpool in their next league game - could make all the difference.
He said: "If we keep going on a long bad run it will be difficult to gel together.
"We need a good result. One good result can be the best medicine but obviously we need to be quick - and quick means Peterborough Tuesday and, on Sunday, Liverpool.
"One game, one win, will clean all the players' brains from the problems they have now.
"The only way to find what you need is to work together. We have 14 new players and six or seven of those arrived in the last 20 days. Then we had international games and they didn't meet each other until a few days ago.
"The only way, even if it is tough sometimes, is to stay together, meet each other, and work together."
The heat was turned on Di Canio within 20 minutes of kick-off at The Hawthorns, perhaps inevitably, by the player he sold to the Baggies amid acrimony earlier this month, Stephane Sessegnon.
Source: PA
