Jermaine Jenas' winner at White Hart Lane left Mowbray's men on 28 points and desperately needing something from their three remaining matches, against Wigan, Liverpool and Blackburn.

"It's very hard for us, we are waiting for other teams," Mowbray said. "But I'm not resigned to going down, I'm resigned to trying to win three games."

West Brom looked unlucky not to get something out of the game, with Heurelho Gomes saving efforts from Jonas Olsson and Robert Koren, while Marc-Antoine Fortune hit the post.

But Mowbray said: "It was pretty average. Par for us away from home. We've been good recently without rewards.

"I wouldn't say we deserved to win but maybe we didn't deserve to lose.

"You can feel their quality, their game knowledge is better than ours. We try to make up with endeavour and playing football in the manner we think is right.

"But it rankles with me that every week I'm told we're playing good football but we can't score goals."

Mowbray is confident of keeping his players at the club, should the miracle of survival not arrive.

"If we go down we'll be strong next year," he said. "They owe the supporters another shot at getting up."

The visitors were undone by Jenas' 43rd minute effort, a curling shot from 25 yards that found the bottom of the net, with Baggies goalkeeper Scott Carson unfortunate to have his view blocked by referee Rob Styles.

Spurs boss Harry Redknapp said: "It was a tight game, no different to what I expected.

"They keep the ball very well but they give goals away. Box to box they pass as good as anyone, it's just the other two ends of the pitch for them.

"I don't know Tony's players. I think he's done a great job picking up players. They are close to being half decent - I like the way they play football."

Spurs are now within touching distance of seventh place, which would earn European football, but Redknapp feels his side are underdogs to qualification.

"It's going to be hard," he said. "West Ham have two home games next, now we have to win away. We need six points to have a chance.

"It would be lovely from a selfish point of view but the actual competition is draining. Thursday to Sunday is not easy."