Stoke squad surprised Hughes

Mark Hughes admits he underestimated the ability of his Stoke players and is satisfied with the strength of his squad.

Hughes succeeded Tony Pulis as manager of Stoke in May and has been casting his eye over the talent on offer ahead of the new Premier League season.

Pulis felt Stoke were unfairly branded as a physical side, who favour direct football, and Hughes believes his predecessor acquired some skilful players.

The former QPR boss recently brought in Erik Pieters from PSV Eindhoven and Marc Muniesa from Barcelona, but he has been impressed with the standard of the squad he inherited.

"I have to say I've been really pleased with the technical ability of the squad as a whole and I think maybe I've been guilty of assuming there's a certain type of player here," he said.

"That's not the case I've been really pleased with what I've found here and the level of ability that's in the building."