Stoke City boss Mark Hughes denies problems with Wilfried Bony.

Rumours that the Potters dressing room are not impressed with Bony's work-rate surfaced on Friday.

But Hughes fumed: “Let's nip that in the bud straight away.

“Unfortunately at the moment we are a little bit fair game for easy headlines.

“It's all very predictable. Player unrest, problems in the dressing room… they all come up at this time.

“It's totally untrue.

“Wilfried's come in and had a really positive impact on the group and we are delighted with his character.

“In terms of what he's been able to produce on the pitch, he hasn't played too many games in the last two or three years and he's getting up to speed.

“To say we are questioning his attitude is totally wrong, so we need to stop that straight away."