Stoke chairman Peter Coates admits he was not expecting manager Mark Hughes to make the progress he has in such a short time . The former Wales boss took over from Tony Pulis for the 2013/14 season after the Potters decided they needed a change of direction . Hughes guided the club to ninth place , their highest finish since being promoted to the Premier League in 2008 , with their biggest points tally of 50 . Mark Hughes led Stoke to their highest Premier League points tally last season . Stoke are currently 10th on 42 points . Stoke are currently 10th on 42 points and with eight matches remaining look set to better last season 's points haul and Hughes has already been rewarded with a new contract taking him to 2019 . Coates admits they had expected a short-term drop in performance following their decision to change the manager but it never materialised . 'When you make a change you think it will put you back initially because people have got to get used to working under a different approach , ' the chairman told stokecityfc.com . ' I think he ( Hughes ) was surprised by the squad he inherited . 'He 's done very well and the players have bought into him and the new style of play which has been very pleasing , exciting and encouraging . Stoke chairman Peter Coates is surprised at the progress Stoke have made in the last two seasons . Stoke chairman Coates ( right ) watches from the stands . ' I 've long held the view that the critical appointment at any football club is the football manager , if you get that right then you will always have a chance . 'Mark has done very well and we are very pleased with what he has achieved in his spell and we 're obviously pleased he wants to continue . 'As ever we do want to get better and Mark has aspirations to get higher up the table and we want to support him in doing that . 'It 's great to have him feel like he can achieve progression here and it 's nice to hear him say it , he is certainly someone who is confident in what he can and ca n't do . ' I am always cautious in football because things can easily go wrong , but we are really pleased with the progress we have made and we 're delighted with Mark 's attitude towards that . '
Mark Hughes took over from Tony Pulis at the start of the 2013-14 season . The former England international was sacked in November 2013 after a run of poor results and he has since been replaced by Steve McClaren, who had previously managed West Ham United.