Former England international Peter Crouch is one of the main strikers at Stoke city, but he was not in the best of shapes when Mark Hughes took over the club from Tony Pulis at the start of the season.
After a run of poor results, Stoke slowly appear to be finding the form that is necessary for them to finish mid-table.
The form of Peter Crouch has been a major reason for their recent run of good results, and Hughes has praised the striker. He has said that Crouch has been working extremely hard in training, which is starting to show in his form.
Crouch did not have much competition for positions when Hughes arrived at the club, but the arrival of a new manager has worked to the benefit of the striker. He has been working hard to impress the new man, who is also attempting to change the style of football at the club. Pulis was more interested in the results than the style of football, which led to some dour football.
“When I first came here in the summer, Pete’s form wasn’t where it is at the moment. But I was just waiting for him to reap the benefits of the work he has been doing. He started in the team, but didn’t stay in and other players were performing better. But he has worked his way back in because he has been doing well in training. He’s a good character to have around the place,” said Hughes.
According to the latest online betting, Crouch will be back in the first team very soon.
The opposition also appeared to work Pulis out, which meant that results were also not coming to the Britannia stadium. Hughes has recently not done well at clubs like Fulham and QPR, and there is pressure for him to come good once again at Stoke. Stoke are 14th in the table right now.