Mark Hughes hopes Kenwyne Jones will earn new Stoke City contract

Stoke City manager Mark Hughes has said that Kenwyne Jones can earn a fresh contract with the club if he continues his recent form.

The 28-year-old has impressed since Hughes's arrival at the Britannia Stadium, scoring a hat-trick against Walsall in the League Cup and starting the club's last two Premier League matches.

Jones will be out of contract next summer and Hughes has admitted that he would be happy to keep hold of the player if he can perform consistently this season.

He told Sky Sports News: "It's early days in terms of contracts. I am aware of the situation with a lot of the players, but for me the important thing for me now is trying to win football matches.

"Kenwyne has been fantastic this season, and if he plays as well as he has done I am sure that he will score a lot of goals for us. He is capable of scoring a lot of goals at this level.

"I sense that Kenwyne is enjoying it at the moment. He has maybe gone through a spell where things didn't go so well for him, but he is a player I like and somebody that offers a lot to us. He maybe needs encouragement from time to time, but he is a great character and a great person to have around the club.

"He will want to do well this season to earn himself a new contract."

Jones joined Stoke from Sunderland in 2010.