Stoke boss Tony Pulis was pleased with his teams battling qualities as they held out for a scoreless draw and a valuable away point at Wigan. "We were smashing defensively. The only disappointing thing was that we had the chance to break on a couple of occasions but gave the ball away cheaply.

"In the last 10 minutes they threw everything at us but we got blocks and a point is a fantastic result. We have to keep putting in performances like these.

"They have thrown their lives down for the cause."