Stoke City midfielder Charlie Adam is hoping that his fine performance against Crystal Palace last Saturday will help him retain a place in the starting lineup for the final eight games of the season.

Stoke had suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace on the weekend and while the result was certainly disappointing, Adam's fine display at the middle of the park could be construed as a positive for manager Mark Hughes.

Playing in a deeper midfield role, Adam pulled the strings throughout the match and now the 29-year old has expressed his hope that the good performance will help him retain a place in the side till the end of the season.

He told the Stoke Sentinel: "It's been nice to be involved in the last three-and-a-half games. and hopefully I can keep pushing on now until the end of the season. I feel as if I am getting back to where I can be and I want to be a part of the last eight games.

"Saturday was more like I can feel I can do. I can push the game on, drive the game from midfield, and hopefully I can do that between now and the end of the season, but you never know in football.

"I think the manager sees me in the 'number 10' role to create things and score goals, but I like to play where I was on Saturday, to dictate the game and drive the team forward. Hopefully, the performance on Saturday will keep me going until the end of the season."