Stoke City goalkeeper Asmir Begovic believes that the Potters can't use the Europa League fixture pileup as an excuse for disappointing results in the Premier League.
Tony Pulis's side have won just three games out of twelve this season, with a fixture against struggling Blackburn Rovers coming up this weekend.
While Matthew Etherington thinks that Stoke's involvement in the Europe is a hindrance to the side's league form, Begovic thinks that the tournament isn't an issue.
"Things aren't going for us, whatever we seem to do aren't working," Begovic told Sky Sports News. "The other teams are having a lot of luck and doing everything right against us. Saturday [against Blackburn] will be a big game for us, we'll try to put it right again and hopefully we can.
"[The Europa League is] an adjustment of course. It's not a reason as to why we've been struggling lately. It's just one of those things.
"We have to get on with it, we're playing a lot of games. It's part of a team that wants to be successful. There's no secret to it, we have to keep working hard and hopefully our luck will change."
Stoke host Steve Kean's side at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday.
Danielle Joynson
