Stoke City chairman Peter Coates is under no illusions that Premier League survival is the height of the Potters ambitions. "We set a high bar for our first season in the top flight, and of course we want to do better," Coates told BBC Radio Stoke.

"But if we finished a couple of places lower, we wouldn't be too disappointed. It's a tough division and we need to stay up because we need to build."

. "We want a strong squad going into the new season so that we can do ourselves justice, we want to progress the club." he concluded.