Begovic must get even better

The Bosnian has edged in front of Thomas Sorensen in the Britannia Stadium pecking order and has played in all but one of the Potters' 36 Premier League games since claiming a starting berth on 30 October 2010. The 24-year-old is revelling in the responsibility of being a regular top flight performer, but insists he will not be resting on his laurels now that he has made the breakthrough. Begovic told The Sentinel: "Personally, it's been nice. It's been a good year and a good learning experience for me. "It's always been my goal to get in the team and stay there. "But having achieved that, it's going to take a lot of hard work to keep my place because the manager won't let you get complacent. "The more games I play, the more comfortable I feel and the more I learn. But I'm just trying to get better and help the team improve." Former Portsmouth shot-stopper Begovic has helped Stoke keep four clean sheets already this season, putting him halfway to matching last season's return of eight. "It's tough to say how many clean sheets you want because of the different opposition," he explained. "We just want as many as we can to help get the three points. But it's nice to get them because then you know you've done your job well; not just me, but the whole defence. "You have pride and you don't want to concede goals, but at the end of the day if we win 2-1 or 3-1 that's great. Winning is the most important thing."