‘Mikel, Teammates Have Been Great’ — Stoke Boss O’Neill Hails

John Obi Mikel and teammates ‘have been great’, according to Stoke City boss, Michael O’Neill ahead of Sunday’s SkyBet Championship tie with Birmingham City at the Bet365 Stadium.

Mikel made his presence count once again as he helped Stoke to qualify for the Carabao Cup quarter-finals following a 1-0 victory against Aston Villa on Thursday night.

The midfielder was on from the start to finish, standing like a rock of Gilbratar in the midfield of the Potters as the club held forth to defeat hosts, Villa at the Villa Park.

Just last weekend, the ex-Chelsea star registered his first assist of the 2020/21 SkyBet Championship to help Stoke secure a 1-0 win over Preston North End at the Deepdale Stadium.

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And ahead of this weekend’s home clash against Birmingham, O’Neill during his pre-match press conference which took place on Friday only said good things about Mikel and teammates.

“The players have been great. They have applied themselves extremely well and the new players have settled in extremely well too. On Sunday, we have to make sure we get the three points,” O’Neil said.

He added: “We know it will be a tough game, like every game we’ve had in the Championship. We need to pick up three points on Sunday and then, we can have a little period of reflection.”

By Oluyemi Ogunseyin