Danny Holla has admitted struggling to cope with the unique demands of English football and becoming a marked man.

But Albion’s Dutch midfielder feels refreshed and ready to rediscover his best form.

Free agent Holla made an eyecatching start to his Albion career after signing a three-year deal in late August.

The former Den Haag playmaker’s debut came in a fluent 2-0 win at Leeds and he scored in spectacular fashion on only his fourth appearance in the defeat at Brentford.

Then being without a club during the summer and the rush of fixtures either side of the international breaks caught up with him.

Holla, 26, told The Argus: “The first four or five games I played well but it was difficult because I came in straight away and had no pre-season.

“Playing was good for me but I think in the last few weeks I was tired and not used to playing so many games.

“Now I feel much better. I’m not happy with how I played the last few weeks but I hope I can get my confidence again and play how I played at the start.

“In England we play every Saturday and Tuesday and that was difficult for me. In Holland you play 35 games a season and also the intensity of the games here is harder.

“In Holland all the teams play football and keep the ball longer so defensively you have time to breathe. Here it keeps going all the time so I think that’s the big difference.”

The versatile Holla also soon discovered he had less time and space in the holding midfield role as opponents latched onto his influence.

“I’m a player that likes to have the ball and control the ball and keep the balance in the team,” he said.

“But after two or three games the other team put a man on me to mark me and that was difficult in the beginning because I didn’t know where to find the spaces.

“He followed me everywhere but now I am getting used to it and it's getting better.”

Holla played on the right side of midfield at Spurs in midweek, with Rohan Ince in the deeper berth.

The 2-0 exit from the Capital One Cup in North London stretched Albion’s run without a win in all competitions to seven games and they have drawn six of the last seven in the league ahead of tonight’s test at Bournemouth.

Holla confessed: “The mood in the camp is difficult because we aren’t winning a lot. We have had a lot of draws in the last couple of weeks and one point is not enough in this league, so the mood could be better, but against Spurs we worked hard and played as a team and this was much better than the week before (Rotherham 1-1).

“Bournemouth are near the top of the league. It will be a difficult game but I think in this league every game is difficult, so I hope we can get some confidence there, play well, work as a team.”

In spite of their perilous position Albion have held joint leaders Watford and Nottingham Forest on their own patch during a sequence of three away stalemates in the Championship.

“We can take encouragement from our away form,” Holla said. “When we play at home a lot of teams drop deep and wait for a mistake from us.

“Away, they play more attacking and we have more space up front. At the moment, when no-one has much confidence, it’s better for us to play against a top team.”