Mark Hughes has signed a new three-year contract extension as Stoke City manager, the Premier League side have confirmed.
He Welsh manager’s previous contract was due to end in 2016, but is now expected to stay at the Britannia stadium until 2019.
We apologise for our earlier blunder. Mark Hughes has agreed a new deal until 2019, NOT 2018 as we reported #IAmStoke
— Stoke City FC (@stokecity) March 27, 2015
“I’m delighted to have signed a new contract,” Hughes told the club’s official website. “I think it’s exciting times for Stoke City, everyone can see there’s more progress to be made and we want to see how far we can take the club.
“I came here 18 or so months ago and it’s gone as well as I could have hoped – we’ve certainly kept progressing which is vitally important from my point of view. This season has been more difficult than last season due to circumstances, like injuries to key players, but we’ve still been very competitive and I believe we can do even better next season with a little bit more investment. Let’s see how far we can go.”
The former Manchester City and West Bromwich Albion manager, 51, has been at Stoke since May 2013.
He guided the Potters to their first top ten finish in the Premier League last season. Stoke are tenth in the English top flight with eight matches left to the end of the season.
The former Manchester United skipper is hoping his new deal could favour the club.
“Continuity is a huge thing in football, certainly in the Premier League, and hopefully the fact I’ve signed a new contract will give continuity to the club and, more importantly, the players because it helps them when they work with someone for a prolonged spell,” he said
