Stoke City manager Mark Hughes has said that the club are 12 months ahead of schedule, just days after penning a new contract to stay with the club.

Hughes took the Midlands team to their first ever top-half finish in the Premier League last season, and they are on course to match that achievement this year.

He told stokecityfc.com: "We're probably 12 months ahead of where we thought we would be when we first came to the club and that's only down to the efforts of the players. I've said many times since I joined the club that the players have really embraced everything we've put in front of them and made things happen.

"They've made the change in the way we play easier and more progressive with their commitment and attitude towards new ways of working."

Hughes's new contract will keep him at the Britannia Stadium until 2018.