Hughes hails work rate of match-winner Joselu

Stoke City manager Mark Hughes hailed the work rate of striker Joselu, who struck the decisive goal in a 2-1 victory at Watford to move his side up to seventh place in the Premier League.

Joselu was brought into the side in the absence of Xherdan Shaqiri and that decision proved key as the striker lobbed Heurelho Gomes to score Stoke’s second goal after Jonathan Walters had put the visitors ahead.

Troy Deeney’s header with five minutes to go sparked a Watford fightback but Stoke held on for their seventh away league win of the season and Hughes said Joselu’s contribution was crucial.

“I felt he was excellent all day long,” Hughes told Sky Sports.

“He worked exceptionally hard for the team, good awareness and got his goal, which strikers obviously thrive on.”

Stoke are a point behind the top six after their victory and Hughes believes his side can push on with seven games remaining.

“We’re just going to see how far we can go,” the Welshman said. “We’ve got seven games left and we’ve got to take games to the opposition like we did today and be confident in our own ability.

“Sometimes we don’t really understand how good a team we are when we’re in full flow. I thought we showed both elements of our play today.

“We were excellent in possession in terms of what we created and second half, when we had to dig in, we showed those qualities as well – a really pleasing performance.

“We test ourselves. We’re not comfortable with the status quo, we want to keep on driving and see how far we can go. We’ve got a good group of players at the moment, we’ve invested well. 

“I’ve got great support from the owners and I’ve got what I want from the team and the club. We’re in decent shape and we want that to continue, hopefully for the long-term.”