Stoke City defender Andy Griffin says his teammates have nothing to fear going into the Premiership season.

Speaking to stokecityfc.com the former Newcastle United and Portsmouth star says: "Of course we are one of the favourites to go down, and most people expect us to go down but we don't believe that.

"Coming up against the likes of Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres is obviously going to be a massive test for all of us, but at the end of the day we are all human.

"Everyone makes mistakes and everyone has a bad game, if that is the case when we play some of the bigger teams hopefully we can try and take advantage of them.

"Some of the younger lads will be standing in the tunnel next to the big players and think 'oh my god' but we will have experienced players who will help them through.

"It is a season we are all going to enjoy, but at the same time we are going to work extremely hard and make sure we are ready for the big kick off on the 16th August."