Saturday 7 April 2018 18:06, UK
Paul Lambert is backing Stoke to survive in the Premier League, even though Saturday's 2-1 defeat at home to Tottenham left them four points adrift of safety.
Spurs had beaten Stoke by a four-goal margin in each of their four previous meetings, but manager Lambert insisted he was proud of his team and believes they can pick up the points they need to avoid the drop.
"I thought we were excellent against a really good side," he told Sky Sports.
"The way they played, the way they committed and the way they went at them was excellent.
"Spurs have beaten Stoke the last few times really heavily and I'm pretty sure that wasn't an easy game for them."
He added: "You can always judge it by the support at the end of the game. The reception the team got after the game was brilliant. You thought we'd won the game.
"If we keep playing like that - and I still think we need to win three games or so - we will certainly do it.
"If you ask me how proud I am of the team, I thought we were outstanding."
Stoke defended well against Arsenal last weekend before conceding three times in the last 15 minutes and caused plenty of problems for a Tottenham side in the top four of the Premier League.
Lambert said they can pick up the wins they need in the final five matches against West Ham, Burnley, Liverpool, Crystal Palace and Swansea.
"I couldn't single anybody out because I thought every single one of them was excellent," he added.
"I think they knew after the Arsenal game how well we'd played, but I've said it before and I'll say it again, we have been playing well without getting the rewards. If they keep doing that they will win games.
"We don't look like a team going down. If they'd started the season as well as they are doing now, they wouldn't be in this position."
