Source: PA
Groves hails Hammers` work-rate
West Ham coach Paul Groves was pleased with the players' work-rate in their 1-1 draw at Stoke.
Scott Parker bundled home the opener for the Hammers, with Kenwyne Jones levelling for the Potters with a close-range header.
"This is a difficult place to come to," said Groves, who was barking orders from the touchline in the absence of Avram Grant. "We have faced different types of challenges with the types of teams we have played lately, like Chelsea and Manchester United.
"It was pleasing that we stood up to this challenge and the work-rate of the group was fantastic. It was a decent performance. We created a number of half-chances in the first half and probably controlled the first 45 minutes as much as you can in terms of playing against Stoke and dealing with what they throw at you.
"It was different in the second half, but I felt that we showed good character, good spirit and good togetherness in terms of answering one or two questions when they managed to get the goal early on.
"That was a difficult time, but we came out of that the other side and started to get a grip on the game a little bit. Then you are always going to face a bit more in the last 10 minutes, but we weathered that as well."
