Stoke City boss Mark Hughes has highlighted the attitude of his players over the past 18 months.
He believes the attitude of senior players, especially, was vital to enjoying a fresh and successful start to life as Stoke boss this time last year.
Hughes told The Sentinel: "It was a good, strong group used to winning Premier League games and I think that was the key difference to the dynamic here.
"Here, they understood how to win Premier League games after five or six seasons in the top division.
"I will always be grateful for the opportunity to come here because maybe my star had faded somewhat, but the Coates family had faith in my ability and hopefully I repaid some of that last year."
