Paul Lambert has attempted to claim the positives from Stoke City's goalless draw with Southampton, describing the stalemate as a "positive point".
The Potters, much like their opponents, struggled when it came to showing the quality required in the final third to make a breakthrough.
Stoke boss Lambert was particularly pleased with his side's defensive resilience, as Josh Sims was twice kept out and Cedric Soares also resorted to shooting from range.
Speaking to Sky Sports News at full time, the 48-year-old said: "We were backs to the walls at times, but we defended strongly. We may have lost this game a month or so ago.
"It's another positive point, and I'm delighted with the team not getting beat. I love it, I love the pressure of it. It's big-time football, and I can't praise the lads enough for their efforts."
"I think any point you get in this division is really good. It's a tough game, and we lost Mame [Biram Diouf] at a tough time as I thought he was a threat, and we looked really good going forward on the counter-attack in the first half.
"Peter Crouch only trained with us a few days ago after a nasty injury so that's why we kept him for a little later on. Going forward we could've been a bit better but it's another huge point in another away game. We've only been beaten once in six games."
Southampton have failed to score in three consecutive home Premier League meetings with Stoke - their joint-longest run without scoring against a single opponent on home soil in the competition, along with Wimbledon in 1998.
Daniel Lewis
