Stoke City stopper Steve Simonsen feels the atmosphere around the club and in the dressing room was a major contribution to the Potters surviving in the Premier League last season. "I don't think there are many dressing rooms better than ours at the moment," he told BBC Radio Stoke.

"We all work so hard for each other, we're all friends, everybody gets along and there's no quarrelling."

Simonsen now believes it will be important to avoid disruptive influences when adding to the squad for the new campaign.

He added: "The manager is very choosy on who he brings in to the squad. He goes through all kinds of checks to make sure that the players he brings in will improve the squad.

"We don't want players who are going to disrupt the squad or make cliques in the dressing room.

"We need more players who will fit into the squad, because team spirit is what we've based our success on this season."