Stoke City boss Mark Hughes was thrilled with the output of some of his fringe players in Wednesday night's Capital One Cup win over Sunderland.
The Potters manager made six changes to the side that drew 2-2 with QPR in the Premier League last weekend for the midweek league cup meeting with the Black Cats at the Stadium of Light.
The likes of goalkeeper Jack Butland, left-back Marc Muniesa (two goals), midfielder Stephen Ireland, defender Robert Huth and winger Oussama Assaidi all gained starts in Stoke's third round triumph which suggests to Hughes that his squad is in good shape ahead of Monday night's league meeting with Newcastle United at the Britannia Stadium.
"I thought they all acquitted themselves really well and I was really pleased with the level of performance," he told Stoke's official website.
"I feel that given the quality of the squad, even if I make changes, it isn't to the detriment of the team. That's encouraging because we are going to need everybody.
"The players came in and looked up to speed, each and every one of them, and that's credit to the work they do on a daily basis.
"Gone are the days where you would religiously stick to the same starting 11 week in, week out.
"Of course you have to be mindful of the opposition, but we now have a squad where we can look at players who have come into form or maybe suffered a little drop in form and make any changes we feel are necessary."
