Hughes wants more Stoke improvements

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Mark Hughes is pleased with the progress his Stoke City side have made but has challenged them to keep on improving.

Under Hughes, Stoke's possession statistics have improved, with the former Wales and Manchester City manager keen to change the direct style of play employed by former boss Tony Pulis.

Stoke were not outplayed in their 3-1 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday, and they retained the ball well, only to be punished as Arsenal's clinical finishing outshone their own.

Hughes said he is happy with his side's progress so far, but knows they still have lots of work to do.

"We're passing it very well. We'll get better," he said. "We're creating chances and I'm convinced that we'll get more goals from the chances made.

"Our focus is to keep our performance levels consistent and if we do, we should win more than we lose."

"I have good quality and ability in many positions," he added. "We have good competition in the squad. There are good players itching to play.

"We're playing in a different way. We're creating chances. We aren't taking as many as we would have liked but we're pleased.

"We want to play in the opposition's half if we can, to keep possession further up the pitch and play our way up there."