Stoke chairman Peter Coates believes the club are almost safe from relegation after reaching 39 points. The Potters are now eight points clear of the relegation zone with five games to play.

He told Sky Sports News: "We think we're nearly there but we don't count our chickens. We've been around a long time and we don't take anything for granted but it seems pretty good to me.

"I think our supporters think we're there and our great player Abdoulaye Faye thinks we've got there but we keep our feet on the ground.

"We'll stick at it and we'd like to get as many points as we can and finish well."