Stoke City manager Mark Robins said he is " delighted with the work that’s going on” after his side condemned an underwhelming Burnley to cap off a successful pre-season campaign.
The Potters gained the edge over Scott Parker’s side after Ben Wilmot capitalised on goalkeeper Max Weiss’ awkward mistake - which saw the goalkeeper miss a punched clearance.
Victory on Saturday came after Robins’ side drew at home with Wolverhampton Wanderers last week in a fixture whereby the hosts could have earned victory without struggle – and Robins claims that’s down to the club’s coaching staff and players’ hard work.
“There’s a lot of hard work going on,” he said. “They’ve worked really hard during pre-season and we've had a group we've had to use throughout the period.
“Hopefully we can add to the group and keep adding to it as we go. We have really talented coaches who are working with the players.
“What I want from the players, how I want them to play; they put on sessions to make it happen. They’re really good.
“I’m delighted with the work that’s going on — the application but also the quality they’re showing. There is a lot more to come from them.”
Robins: The Premier League is a different level to the Championship
Last season marked Stoke’s lowest finish in the English pyramid since the 2002-03 season — when they finished 18th on 51 points — and performances throughout that campaign showed why.
At times against Burnley, however, the Potters looked as though they could challenge some of the better teams in the Premier League in one of their greatest performances in a while.
Robins was admittedly happy with this victory and admits that he’s excited for the season ahead which he will hope displays more prominent success in contrast to last season’s dismay.
“It’s on the back of a win against a Premier League team. Yes, it’s a pre-season friendly — I’m not daft — but it’s a good building block into the new season,” said Robins.
“Liverpool were unbelievable. Brighton were really good, Wolves were really good. Burnley the same. The level of players is totally different, you can see the difference — the Championship is different.
“In possession we are looking really threatening. It looks better, training looks better. Everything is getting more exciting, more competitive and of a better quality.
“Everything now starts again, we’re looking forward to it and seeing what we can do against Derby, but it’s only the first game.”
Talovierov and Gibson "fine" and "training"
Amid all the positivity and excitement bursting out of the bet365 Stadium, there was a number of key players missing from the squad for many reasons.
Ashley Phillips and Lewis Baker were left out because of illness, which Robins explained ahead of kick-off that it was simply a precaution, while defenders Ben Gibson and Maksym Talovierov face fitness concerns but the Stoke manager insisted that both are close to returning.
“Maksy is fine, he's alright, but there's just something that's not quite right. He's alright. Gibbo is fine, he trained today. Steven Nzonzi too, he's doing okay and trying to get fit and ready to go - he'll do that over the next week or two.
"It's as if you were with Steven. He's just working towards his fitness, and then we can make a proper decision. I'm hopeful and he's hopeful because he's working hard. It's going to be interesting because it's difficult when you have to work hard. He's getting a day off tomorrow because he worked really hard on Saturday morning.
"Him and Gibbo will be back into training on Monday, and then we will design sessions for next week which will give us the best opportunity of having him, and all of them, with us and ready for the kick off."