Marc Muniesa urges Stoke to build on strong run over festive period
Sunday 4 December 2016 11:25, UK
Stoke defender Marc Muniesa has challenged his team-mates to prove they deserve to be in the top half of the Premier League ahead of a tough festive period.
Following a slow start to the campaign in which the Potters failed to win any of their opening seven fixtures, Mark Hughes' side moved up to ninth on Saturday with a 2-0 victory over Burnley, their fifth win in their past seven game.
However, with tricky trips to Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea, and home games with Southampton and Leicester on the horizon before the new year, Muniesa sees this month as decisive to Stoke's ambitions.
"We are ninth at the moment but now we know we have five tough games against top teams that will show us if we are strong enough to be there," the Spaniard told the club's YouTube channel.
Muniesa is also targeting an extended run in the Stoke side, having been restricted to only 15 minutes of league action before being recalled to the starting line-up for last weekend's win over Watford.
Hughes brought in five players for that game, switching to a 3-4-3 system, and kept the likes of Muniesa, Giannelli Imbula and Jonathan Walters in an unchanged team against Burnley.
With Walters and Muniesa scoring against the Clarets, it gives Hughes plenty to consider for next weekend's trip to Arsenal when the possibility of recalling Ryan Shawcross and Joe Allen will be on his mind.
"With four or five players, we haven't had a lot of chances this season," Muniesa added.
"Now we are having chances, we are playing well and winning so we are making the decisions for the coach very difficult.
"But we have 25 squad players, everyone can play on this team so it's good for us and the coach."
