QPR manager Harry Redknapp remained positive after his side's 1-1 draw with fellow strugglers Aston Villa and insisted they will continue to battle for their first league win of the season.
Brett Holman scored the opening goal for Villa with a powerful strike but Jamie Mackie headed home to secure a point for the R's in Redknapp's first home game in charge.
"There's no shortage of spirit and no shortage of effort and I thought we played ever so well. We just couldn't get that second goal," Redknapp told Sky Sports News.
"Villa kept the ball in the second half. That made it difficult as they knocked it around without going anywhere but I don't remember them having a real opportunity second half.
"We just have to keep going. We are in a difficult position, there's no doubt about that.
"We have just got to believing, work hard and try and get that first win. That's we need to get us up and running."
Redknapp admitted he was pleased with the positive response he got from the Loftus Road crowd but insisted it was matters on pitch that were crucial.
"It was good but the most important thing is the game. I thought we played well today after a difficult start," he added.
"After we went one-down we played some good football and hit the woodwork several time. We had all the chances really and I thought we deserved to win.
"We needed a win today but it didn't come and we will have to go again next week and get that first win under our belts."
Redknapp also confirmed that Stephane Mbia did not suffer serious injury despite having to be stretchered off after colliding with Gabby Agbonlahor.
"He's OK, he's just got a bit of a neck injury. He's gone for a check-up but I don't think there are any problems and he should be fit for next week," he said.
Whitehead converted a cross from fellow substitute Michael Kightly on Saturday to earn the Potters their first Premier League away win since January.
Tony Pulis' side have taken 13 points from the last five games, while for the fifth-placed Baggies it was a second setback in the space of 72 hours following Wednesday night's 3-1 loss at Swansea.
Stoke's victory means Albion have failed to defeat them in front of their own fans for nine years and they have triumphed only twice in the last 30 league meetings.
They have won all four Premier League encounters at The Hawthorns without conceding a goal.
Kenwyne Jones made his first Premier League start of the season in place of the injured Peter Crouch and was a constant threat to the West Brom defence.
Albion drew a blank at home for the first time this season and seldom looked like finding a way through the Stoke back four in which skipper Ryan Shawcross was outstanding.
Youssouf Mulumbu gave his usual solid display in midfield while defender Gareth McAuley made several crucial challenges.
But Albion lacked their usual spark in the attacking third of the pitch as they missed the opportunity to reclaim third spot after Chelsea's lunchtime defeat against West Ham.
West Brom head coach Steve Clarke made six changes from the side beaten at Swansea in midweek and handed a debut to Sweden striker Markus Rosenberg.
Jones came close to breaking the deadlock in the 14th minute after a quiet opening to the game.
The Trinidad & Tobago international got on the end of a cross from Geoff Cameron and directed his header back across goal and only inches wide of the post.
Shawcross produced a fine tackle to halt the run of Graham Dorrans on the edge of the Stoke box after a reverse pass from Rosenberg.
Robert Huth blocked a fierce drive from Mulumbu after Dorrans had found him in space but neither goalkeeper had a save to make in the opening half-hour.
Huth became the first player to be yellow-carded after 35 minutes for bringing down Shane Long.
Stoke keeper Asmir Begovic had to back-pedal to parry a speculative dipping 40-yard attempt from Steven Reid over the bar.
Charlie Adam became the second Stoke player to be booked a minute before half-time for a foul on Zoltan Gera.
Shawcross followed him into referee Kevin Friend's notebook shortly after the restart after bringing down Long.
Begovic dealt comfortably with Jonas Olsson's looping header from Long's cross as clear-cut chances continued to be at a premium.
Pulis replaced Matthew Etherington with former Wolves winger Michael Kightly after 59 minutes.
Clarke then brought on forward players Romelu Lukaku and Peter Odemwingie for the ineffective Rosenberg and Gera.
McAuley produced a superb tackle inside the Baggies box to halt Jones in full flight.
But after 75 minutes, Stoke broke the deadlock after a rare mistake by Jonas Olsson.
The centre-back tried to keep the ball in play when challenging Jones but only succeeded in finding Kightly. He ran unopposed into the Albion area and his low cross was turned home by Whitehead.
Begovic parried a Dorrans drive but Stoke held out with relative ease for the three points.
Fellaini headed the Toffees, victors in eight of their previous 10 clashes with City, into a first-half lead on Saturday but then conceded a controversial penalty to allow Carlos Tevez to level.
Everton felt Edin Dzeko had gone to ground too easily to win the award but Tevez made no mistake and City went on to dominate the second half.
The result preserved City's unbeaten start to the season in the Premier League and prolonged their run of home games without defeat to 37, a sequence stretching back to a loss to Everton two years ago.
It was also Everton's seventh draw in their last nine games.
The match took some while to warm up and City suffered an early blow as Aleksandar Kolarov limped off after just six minutes.
Manager Roberto Mancini had opted to rest the hard-working Pablo Zabaleta but the in-form Argentinian was summoned from the bench straight away.
Joleon Lescott made an unexpected return to the side, to face his former club, in place of impressive youngster Matija Nastasic.
The England defender looked composed as he resumed his partnership with Vincent Kompany after more than a month out of the starting line-up.
Everton playmaker Leon Osman gave the City defence plenty to think about in the early stages without creating a clear-cut opening.
Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard had to pick himself up from a collision with Dzeko after coming to claim a cross from Maicon, who looked dangerous in attack but vulnerable in defence.
City threatened the Everton goal in the 20th minute when David Silva crossed and Dzeko headed wide.
Tevez controlled well in the area but was unable to shoot and Dzeko inadvertently took the full force of a Samir Nasri shot in the back of his head.
Everton's 33rd-minute opener came in familiar fashion as the ever-dangerous Leighton Baines, who passed a fitness test to feature, crossed and Fellaini eventually headed in.
Kompany did well to divert the cross away from Nikica Jelavic but it dropped for Fellaini, who headed home at the second attempt at the far post after Joe Hart saved his initial effort.
It was the Belgian's eighth goal of an impressive season.
That brought the game to life and City almost found an immediate equaliser as Tevez met a Nasri cross with a deft header that Howard did well to save.
Gareth Barry then chested down another Nasri cross for Dzeko to turn and shoot but again Howard was alert.
Controversy followed the resulting corner as Dzeko tangled with Fellaini and went to ground.
Referee Lee Probert sparked immediate protest from Everton by pointing to the spot and Toffees manager David Moyes clearly thought the award was harsh.
Tevez made no mistake as he stepped up to tuck home his eighth of the campaign.
Whether or not Fellaini was unfairly penalised, he almost produced the perfect response in the final moments of the first half with a glancing header from a Steven Pienaar cross, but Hart saved.
That proved the final on-field action before the players left the field but Moyes continued to voice his frustration, presumably about the penalty decision, to the fourth official.
City upped the tempo at the start of the second half but again it took time before the chances came, aside from a Tevez shot which was blocked by Phil Jagielka.
Tevez almost broke away after a miskick by Distin but the defender recovered quickly to nick the ball away from the striker.
Tevez also headed over but it was not until just after the hour that City seriously threatened again as Maicon burst down the field and forced Howard to parry a powerful 18-yard drive.
City decided to freshen up their attack by sending on Sergio Aguero, but the crowd were not happy that it was Tevez he replaced and boos rang around the ground.
The game became scrappy as Everton's hard-working defence did their best to repel City's threat.
Mario Balotelli also entered the action for the last 10 minutes in place of Dzeko and did inject a bit of energy into the side.
His first chance to aim at goal, however, was probably best forgotten as he screwed a shot well wide.
Nasri then combined well with Silva in the area but could only win a corner.
Everton went close in injury time from a Jelavic free-kick but Hart saved and the ball squirmed wide.
