Crouch: Stoke eyeing Europe

Peter Crouch believes Stoke City are ready are make the next step and qualify for Europe.

Stoke look set for another top-10 finish in the Premier League this season, with Mark Hughes’ men 10th with eight games remaining.

Hughes’ work has not gone unnoticed by Stoke’s hierarchy, who tied the Welshman down to a new deal until 2019 following the club’s ninth-place finish last term.

With the foundations firmly in place for success in the upper echelons of the Premier League, Crouch revealed European football is high on the agenda.

“We try and improve each year,” Crouch told Sky Sports. “We’ve got a good points total and if we beat last year’s, that’ll be a great achievement.

“We finished in the top 10 for the first time in the club’s history last year, and we’ve been in the top 10 for a while now. We can finish as high up as eighth – which is a possibility – that’s what we’re hoping to do.

“I think it’s a very stable club and obviously the chairman is a fan who doesn’t make hasty decisions, maybe like some. He’s got the right man in place now and hopefully we can continue to improve.

“If we finish in the top 10 again this year – eighth is probably the target – then next year we can build and start going for Europe.”