Stoke City captain Ryan Shawcross has hit out at critics after victory over Watford.

The Potters were handed the toughest festive double header they could have asked for with away trips to second-placed Liverpool and leaders Chelsea – and they ended up with 4-1 and 4-2 defeats respectively.

They bounced back with a 2-0 win over Watford last night but Shawcross says they had not deserved the stick they had received in the first place.

"It was a fantastic win and what we needed," he said in an interview for Stoke's YouTube channel. "There was a lot of frustration around the place after two disappointing results but we pulled through for a fantastic three points.

"We're angry with the response we've had from fans and media because I thought we put in two pretty solid performances in against Chelsea and Liverpool who are probably going to go on and challenge for the title. We got a lot of stick for that but I thought we played all right. We just made a lot of individual mistakes."

He added: "I've been reasonably happy with my form. The media have given me a fair bit of stick over my performances but I do my talking on the pitch and hopefully I can put in some good performances from now until the end of the season."