Stoke City football chief John Rudge admits they need to strengthen their defence for the Premiership season.

"We obviously want to add to the players we've already got by bringing in people who have Premier League experience," explained Rudge to The Sentinel.

"We are looking at all positions, but obviously the spine of the team is an area that must be strong and we do only have two centre-backs at present.

"Ryan Shawcross and Leon Cort have done exceptionally well for us, in both boxes, but Ryan is still very young and Leon hasn't played at the top level either."