Source: SKY_Sports
Potters put it in
Stoke 1-0 Blackburn
Soccer Saturday analysis
Paul Merson hailed Stoke as the hardest-working side he has EVER seen.
The former Arsenal, Middlesbrough and Aston Villa and England man may have played over 500 games in the old First Division and the Premier League, but was still stunned by what he saw.
Liam Lawrence's smart second-half was enough to take the spoils against Blackburn and leave Tony Pulis' men one point short of the magic 40 and top-flight survival.
But for Merson, their relative success in staying up is more down to graft than craft.
"Stoke worked so hard," he told Soccer Saturday. "I have never seen a football team work that hard for 90 minutes; constantly they closed down
and closed down.
"And it was all of them, not one came off the pedal, it was just work, work, work. I think it's unbelievable. What a feat for them! And the crowd were phenomenal, absolutely phenomenal.
"We are talking about the middle of April: I would have hated to play against them because every time someone got the ball for Blackburn, there were two or three people around them.
"Not once were they able to get the ball down and put three or four passes together and for their hard work, Stoke have been an absolute credit this season."
RecordStoke's football has won few plaudits this season and Lawrence's goal owed a lot to their so-called route-one style.
It was James Beattie's flick from a high ball into the box that set up the chance but Merson was anything but critical of their approach.
"The goal was very good, into the box, great knock down by Beattie and Lawrence got inside and it was a great finish," he said.
"At the end if the day if they come fourth from bottom they have pulled up trees in my opinion and they are going to do better than that. No-one wants to play Stoke, their home record is so good and they work so hard.
"Everyone says West Brom play great football but one's going to be playing in the Premier League next season and one's going to be playing in the Championship."
