Mark Hughes understands Peter Crouch frustration at Stoke
Thursday 27 October 2016 15:22, UK
Mark Hughes accepts Peter Crouch is frustrated at a lack of game time at Stoke but insisted his time will come.
The former England forward has struggled for first team football this season having started just two games for 19th-placed Stoke, both back in August.
Crouch responded to a tweet lamenting his performances on a football computer game recently with the quip: "At least I'm getting a game somewhere."
Hughes saw the funny side of it all, and sympathised for Crouch's plight.
"Pete's quite sharp on Twitter so I always keep a look out once people tell me he's been on there," Hughes said. "Usually it's quite amusing.
"It's probably true, he's a little bit frustrated but it is what it is. He's showing good signs in training. When it's the right time to introduce him again then we'll do that.
"But he's just got to be patient like a number of other people at the moment because we're winning games and playing well so it's difficult to break in."
It is becoming a familiar story for Crouch, who only started four Premier League games last season.
"Everyone gets to a point where they're frustrated when they feel they're not getting opportunities they would like," said Hughes.
Live Monday Night Football
"He's not the most forceful in that regard but certainly he's knocked on my door and had a word in the past, as I would expect. He's a seasoned player, he's got a lot of experience that we value.
"At the moment we're in a position where we want a little bit of continuity, which we've lacked prior to this run."
Crouch has consistently been linked with a move away from Stoke but Hughes still sees the striker as a valuable asset and would not be willing to see him leave.
"I'm not thinking in those terms," Hughes added. "It's about having a balance in the squad. Pete clearly gives us a different type of threat.
"The key is to have different types of players to give the opposition different types of problems. All our strikers offer different things and Pete is very much a player we value and one we'll use as we see fit.
"He's going to play a part this year, he knows that, and he'll get the right amount of games I feel."
