Stoke City coach Mark O'Connor says there's now great self-belief surging through their players after a recent run of positive results.

The Potters hope to reach the last eight of the Carling Cup at League Two side Rotherham's expense tonight.

O'Connor said: "The spirits are really high, we would much prefer to be going to Manchester United on Saturday in a good run of form rather than being down in the dumps.

"Now we need to make sure we are in the Carling Cup quarter-finals by then and to make sure we do not take Rotherham lightly in any way.

"Our players have started to believe they can compete in the Premier League, but we have this cup tie first and we believe we have a strong squad and will be using a few other players for this one.

"But we know a win puts us in the quarter-finals so it is a huge game. It is a chance for us to win something. A win will breed confidence and take us into the United game on top form."