Stoke City Football Club News

• Nickname:Potters
• Founded:1863
• Manager:Tony Pulis

• Ground:Britannia Stadium
• Capacity:28,218

Pulis backs Potters pair for England duty

30 Sep 2010 - 16:03:50

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Stoke City boss Tony Pulis has again backed both winger Matthew Etherington and central defender Ryan Shawcross for England call-ups in the near future.

The duo have started the new campaign in fine form, with stopper Shawcross excelling after being handed the captain's armband by Pulis.

The Potters chief told reporters: "In my opinion they must be very, very close. I'm not going to tell Fabio Capello who to pick, that's up to him and he's an experienced enough manager to know his own mind.

"But the two lads haven't done themselves any harm at all.

"Matty's been exceptional. He's got everything you could want. He's quick, he's got good feet and he doesn't half work hard for the team.

"Ryan's a very quiet lad and you just hope he grows with the captaincy and comes out of that shell a little bit.

"As he grows older and more experienced, that will become a strength of his as a leader."