Mark Hughes "encouraged" by Stoke City win

Stoke City boss Mark Hughes has admitted that he is "encouraged" by his team's pre-season win over Singha All Star XI.

The Potters claimed third place in the Premier League Asia Trophy on Saturday by beating the hosts 2-0 in Singapore thanks to goals from Steve Sidwell and Marko Arnautovic.

While admitting that there is still plenty of room for improvement, Hughes is confident that Stoke are on the right track heading into the new season.

"Yes, I am encouraged," he is quoted as saying by Sky Sports News. "We haven't hit the heights that we know we will do in the season. Obviously we are still coming together as a group, but I'm encouraged by the technical ability that we've added to the group."

Hughes reserved special praise for Spanish striker Joselu, who joined the club from Hannover for nearly £6m last month.

"I think Joselu will be good for us," the Welshman added. "I think he's certainly added to the clinical ability of the squad, so we are really pleased with that acquisition and the other guys that we brought to the club will be strong and help us right from the start of the Premier League, right to the end."

Stoke are back in pre-season action on July 22 when they make the trip to Wrexham.