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Cape Town - Under-fire manager Mark Hughes expects to be given time to turn around Stoke City’s fortunes.
Hughes is the favourite to be the next Premier League manager to be sacked, with the Potters lying just two points above the relegation zone after their lowest tally from 17 games since they were promoted in 2008.
Angry fans confronted Stoke’s players at the railway station after their 5-1 drubbing at Spurs last weekend and even though Hughes’ men produced an improved display at Burnley on Tuesday, they still suffered a last-gasp defeat.
Saturday’s clash against fellow strugglers West Ham has been billed as do-or-die for Hughes, but the ex-Manchester City boss - who has been in charge at Stoke for four years - believes the club’s hierarchy will not make any hasty decisions.
“They’re good football people, they’ve been around football a long time and they understand what it’s about,” said Hughes.
“They know they’ve got good people working for them and one of their constants is that they allow people who can get the job done to get on with their job and do the job that they’re paid to do. And that’s what they’re doing with me.
“The owners are fans, they’re the biggest fans if you judge by what they’ve done for the club. If they see a committed performance, if they see players working hard and running as much as they possibly can, which is what they saw on Tuesday night, they’ll be happy.
“Because they know, if you work that hard over a period, you will get results. They’ve been in the game a long time, they know it’s not always a smooth path.”
Kick-off is at 17:00 (SA time).
