Charlie Adam believes Stoke City must be realistic about their ambitions.

Adam has warned against a rise of expectations as the Staffordshire outfit continue to build on their recent top-flight success.

"[Top six] would be a massive ask, you've got to be realistic here," he told talkSPORT.

"You've got the likes of Chelsea, Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham all there.

"To catch those teams, even Liverpool and Tottenham who are fifth and sixth, with the amount of money they're spending, it will be difficult.

"I think you have to be realistic, there's another league for us really, competing with Southampton, Swansea and Everton, they're the type of clubs we've got to be looking at and trying to challenge."