Mark Hughes has said that Stoke City have had a "hard period" at the start of the Premier League season.
The Potters have not won since August, but have played the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal in recent weeks.
The manager told the club's website: "We've had a hard period. We've played nine games now and have played a number of the top sides in the Premier League and we've only had four home games up to this point.
"It has been a difficult start in terms of the fixtures but as I've said all along I think performance-wise there have been very few games where I've been really disappointed with what we've produced.
"But we can't keep on saying that, at the weekend we need to get a positive result and that's what we'll look to do."
Stoke host Southampton tomorrow.
