Mark Hughes accepts Peter Crouch is frustrated at a lack of game time but would not be prepared to sell the striker in January.

Crouch responded to a tweet lamenting his performances on a football computer game with the quip: "At least I'm getting a game somewhere."

Hughes said: "Pete's quite sharp on Twitter so I always keep a look out once people tell me he's been on there. 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."

"Everyone gets to a point where they're frustrated when they feel they're not getting opportunities they would like," added Potters boss Hughes.

"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 35-year-old as a valuable asset and would not be willing to see him leave.

He said: "I'm not thinking in those terms. 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."