Hughes saved my career, says Stoke's Ireland

The 27-year-old ended a largely unproductive three-year spell at Aston Villa in September when he agreed a loan move to Stoke and linked up with Hughes, his former manager at Manchester City.

After impressing under Alex McLeish in the 2011-12 season, Ireland fell out of favour under current Villa boss Paul Lambert and was rarely included in matchday squads.

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