Stoke City chairman Peter Coates has said the 4-1 drubbing of Aston Villa on Sunday was their best in the Premier League away from home. It was the first time that Stoke had scored four goals on the road in the English top flight for 32 years.
"It was pretty good, a very enjoyable away day and we haven't had too many of those," he told The Sentinel.
"I've said before that we have played better away from home than results have indicated this season, but I still didn't think we were going to go and do that to Aston Villa.
"When we went behind, I thought 'here we go', but we got back into the game by playing attractive, attacking football to make it a great afternoon for all Stoke supporters.
"It was a bonus that we were live on television, and I do believe we now appear to be getting a bit of recognition up and down the country that we can play football.
"I remember in his early days here Mark Hughes telling me he was impressed with our players.
"He spoke about Ryan Shawcross. He said anyone who'd been at Manchester United could play and pass a football because you don't get through that system without being able to play.
"That (the 1-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur in 2009) was a bit of a smash-and-grab win because Steve Simonsen had a fabulous day in goal and then we scored late on through Glenn Whelan.
"But Sunday's was a different performance altogether, and don't forget we were a bit light on numbers.
"Obviously it was a great result, but it was the performance that stood out. There cannot have been any better."
