Shaqiri Proud Of City Support

Midfielder confident Potters will improve to repay fans

XHERDAN SHAQIRI paid tribute to the Stoke City supporters following his return to action at the weekend and says the team will soon start to repay the faith shown in them and climb up the Premier League table.

The Swiss midfielder made a much welcome return to the side against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday as the Potters produced their most positive performance of the season.

Joe Allen’s first goal for the Club on 74 minutes had seemed to have sealed a deserved three points at the bet365 Stadium only for a late Salomon Rondon equaliser to instead steal a draw for the visitors.

“Fans are not always delighted when we don’t win but we saw that they were behind us for 90 minutes and I’m really proud of them,” Shaqiri said.

“I want to thank them because they were amazing and are always behind us.

“We have to improve and have to play better and I am sure when we play like we did – for 95 minutes – we’ll get a lot more wins.

“Of course we are disappointed with the result but I think we played very well and it was a big improvement from the last few weeks.

In Shaqiri’s absence, Stoke had struggled to add to the point he helped earn with his fantastic free kick in the opening day draw at newly-promoted Middlesbrough.

A calf problem that had been hoped would clear up quickly kept him out of action for four Premier League matches as well as Switzerland’s opening World Cup qualifier with European champions Portugal.

Now with a successful return under his belt, the 24-year-old is determined to come back with a bang after a frustrating period on the sidelines.

“I think every player is disappointed when they’re injured,” he added.
Source: www.stokecityfc.com