Stoke City left-back Danny Higginbotham has welcomed competition from Danny Pugh and Carl Dickinson.

"Pughy and Dicko are good players," he told Stoke's website.

"They're great professionals who train hard and I'm sure they're itching to get some more appearances next season.

"For someone my age it's good to have a younger player like Dicko coming through because you work together and teach each other things.

"Competition for places is good in any team, it keeps you on your toes and gets you fighting to keep you place."