Stoke’s tough early fixtures excites Shawcross

Captain Ryan Shawcross is relishing the opportunity for Stoke City to make a statement early on in the Premier League following the fixture announcement this week.

Mark Hughes’ men welcome Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea to the bet365 Stadium in their first three home games of the 2017/18 campaign.

The Potters had a shaky start to the season last year with two draws and four defeats in their opening six games with their first league victory not coming until October 15.

And Shawcross is focussed on a much better start for his side this time around despite the difficult nature of their early fixtures.

“We struggled during the opening few weeks of the season last time, especially in the matches against the bigger sides, but we have a real opportunity to put that right this season,” he said.

(Photo credit OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images)

“We have three mouth-watering games at home against Arsenal, United and Chelsea, which we will be right up for, and hopefully we will be able to make a real statement of intent in those matches.

“We know that we let ourselves down in those kind of fixtures last season, so we will be desperate to make amends for that this time around and start the season in really positive fashion.

“Everton away is never an easy one for any side, but we have been there in the past, competed with them and beaten them, so we can go there with real belief this time around too.”