Stoke City boss Mark Hughes has admitted that he is unable to explain why his side are performing against the bigger teams in the league, but struggling against those in the bottom half.

The Potters grabbed three vital points in the 1-0 win over title contenders Arsenal on Saturday thanks to a late Jonathan Walters penalty.

Stoke have beaten Chelsea and Manchester United at home this season, while Manchester City could only take a point from the Britannia Stadium, however Hughes could only speculate as to why his side have one of the poorest records against bottom-half sides.

"I've been trying to work that out myself," Hughes told reporters. "I just think when we play the top sides there's a determination, an intensity, a drive from us. More often than not the top sides will have more possession than us so we perhaps need a different gameplan.

"We've struggled maybe against lesser teams, so to speak, because when the onus is on us to take games to the opposition we're not as accomplished as when we go up against the top teams and we need to pick our moments.

"But we need to get better at that because we've got key games and key fixtures against teams that no doubt will come here and make it difficult for us."

Stoke are currently six points off the relegation zone in 12th place.