Tottenham manager Juande Ramos is under increasing pressure after his side were beaten 2-1 at Stoke to confirm the club's worst start to a league season.

Spurs have taken two points from eight games and sit bottom of the Premier League, five points adrift of safety.

Gareth Bale and Michael Dawson now face bans after their red cards at Stoke and Vedran Corluka was knocked unconscious.

"I am worried about the situation," Ramos said after their sixth league defeat. "At the moment it is terrible."

Bale is set to miss one match after being dismissed for a professional foul, while Dawson is likely to be suspended for three games following his sending off for a studs-up tackle on Mamady Sidibe.

I speak to the chairman when he permits us to speak - he's a very busy person and I don't know when it will be possible to speak Juande Ramos

Tottenham host Bolton next Sunday, then visit Arsenal on 29 October, where they have not won in 18 games since 1993, before facing Liverpool, who they have not beaten in nine games, at home on 1 November.

Before those games is Thursday's trip to Italy, where Spurs face Udinese, second in Serie A, in a Uefa Cup group game.

The only piece of good news for Ramos on Sunday came when Corluka, who lost consciousness following an accidental clash with his own goalkeeper and was taken to hospital for head and neck X-rays, was given the all-clear.

"He has regained consciousness and everything appears to be okay," confirmed a Spurs spokesman.

But the Spaniard's defensive options are likely to remain limited, with Dawson banned and captain Ledley King only able to play "one game every two or three weeks" because of an ongoing problem with his left knee.

Tottenham have won only three of their 20 Premier League matches since lifting the Carling Cup in February and have scored only five league goals this season.

Only one Premier League team (Southampton in 1998-99) have avoided relegation after picking up two or fewer points from their opening eight matches.

"At this moment everyone is very sad and I am worried about it as I don't like this situation," stated Ramos.

606: DEBATE The club is rotten to the core and it's not as if it's just one simple thing, that's what concerns me most! SimplyTheBestSpurs

"This is my job and I am working very hard each day to finish this situation.

"The responsibility is on all the people working in the club, starting with me and finishing with the last person - we all have responsibility, when we win and when we lose."

When asked if he planned to meet Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy and whether he was confident he had the board's backing, Ramos replied: "I don't know - this is a question for the chairman.

"I speak to the chairman when he permits us to speak. He's a very busy person and I don't know when it will be possible to speak."

Stoke manager Tony Pulis urged the Tottenham board to stick with Ramos, who they recruited from Sevilla in October 2007.

"Let's see a bit of character by their board of directors and see them back him," said Pulis.

"We are all in the same boat and know the rules and have to accept it. I just hope the chairman who got rid of a very popular manager before - Martin Jol - now backs him and gives him a chance to turn it around.

"They certainly have good enough players and a good depth of squad. They will get it sorted out sooner rather than later and when they do they will be a very tough team to play against."