Stoke City defender Erik Pieters has claimed that his side are gradually becoming one of the most formidable teams in the Premier League.

The Potters defeated Manchester City 2-0 in their clash last week to get back to winning ways following their loss at Sunderland, and are now just four points adrift of fifth place in the table.

Pieters believes that Mark Hughes's men have to maintain the current level of their displays to challenge for a place in Europe come the end of the campaign.

He told the club's official website: "We are becoming a really hard team to beat. We are an attractive team with very good technical players who can work well but we know every game is different in the Premier League.

"It's important that we keep a run of consistency going. Confidence is high, we believe in what we can achieve and I really love playing at the moment.

"There are loads of games to go but if we can maintain our confidence then I think we will have yet another good season."

Stoke travel to face West Ham United in their match tomorrow.