West Bromwich Albion boss Sam Allardyce has called on his players to follow the example of Brighton and Burnley in claiming wins against teams like Tottenham.
The Baggies travel to north London to face Jose Mourinho's Spurs side this afternoon, with West Brom currently second from bottom in the Premier League and 11 points from safety.
Albion have only won once in the league since Allardyce took charge, with the 3-2 victory at Wolves last month the sole victory in the top flight for the Baggies since the former England manager succeeded Slaven Bilic in the hotseat at the Hawthorns.
But while West Brom have struggled for form and results, they have seen their rivals in the bottom six pick up points, with Brighton and Burnley enjoying recent upturns that have seen them move clear of the relegation zone.
Both Brighton and Burnley have been boosted by surprise wins at Liverpool, while the Seagulls also defeated Tottenham last weekend, one of three straight defeats in the Premier League for Mourinho's men.
And now, Allardyce is urging his players to follow in Brighton's footsteps as he looks to try and mastermind another escape act in the battle to avoid relegation.
Speaking ahead of the game against Spurs, Allardyce said: "We have failed against teams in and around us to achieve the number of points we wanted to, which means we have to make up those points against teams in higher positions.
"We have to produce performances in those games to get some victories, not just draws. That's the position we've put ourselves in.
"We'll have to surprise teams like I've done in the past at other clubs in this position.
"We need to do what Brighton and Burnley have done, get a victory against some of the bigger teams in this league, while not forgetting when we play teams in that bottom eight it's almost getting to the stage where it's a must-win."
And after only taking one point from recent fixtures against the two other sides in the bottom three with them - Fulham and Sheffield United - Allardyce admits that only serves to mean that the upcoming games for his side against Spurs, Manchester United and West Ham take on extra significance for the Baggies.
"We could easily be sat here with four points from those two games (against Fulham and Sheffield United) and that would have been very satisfying indeed," he said.
"But we slipped up so when we play Tottenham, Manchester United or West Ham we'll have to get a victory in those games."
