Tony Mowbray does not believe West Brom are competing 'on a level playing field' with their relegation rivals.
The Baggies have not been able to spend as heavily as other clubs in the Premier League and on Saturday they played a Bolton side that was able to splash out £8million on Swedish striker Johan Elmander.
Mowbray admits his inexperienced side has struggled but has paid tribute to West Brom for at least being competitive against clubs with more financial muscle.
He said: "We have found the Premier League tough. I could ask the question whether it is a level playing field.
"I know we shouldn't get judged as if it is a level playing field and in my own mind we are playing Bolton who have got a near £10million centre-forward (Elmander) playing against us.
"We are a team who have come up into the Premier League. Yes, we have spent a few quid, but we have never spent £10million on a footballer.
"So every week, whether it is Bolton or Manchester United you are facing, you are playing against some pretty high-quality players that cost a lot of money.
"I don't take it too hard or too personally, but I don't think it is a level playing field and I am proud of the team when they perform like they did against Bolton.
"They were facing a team with more experience, are more expensive and, at times, are better players than ours - and yet I don't see the gulf on the pitch."
West Brom are currently seven points adrift of safety at the bottom of the table but Mowbray believes the situation could have looked a lot more positive with a bit more luck.
He said: "It is all about very fine margins. Ultimately you get judged on the league table and the results and yet all season we have felt the fine margin between winning and losing has fallen the wrong side of the coin for us.
"Over the course of the season that probably suggests we haven't been quite good enough to get the three points on the days we felt we should or could have when the balance of the game was in our favour.
"For whatever reason, we have let a sloppy goal in which has been the case during the second half of the season.
"During the first half of the season I was talking about not having the right quality to finish off all the chances we had.
"You put those two factors together and ultimately we find ourselves where we are in this league and yet most weeks I feel there has not been a lot between the teams."
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