Stoke City manager Mark Hughes has moved to quell speculation of unrest within the dressing room, as his side look for a first win in four games this weekend against West Brom.
Stoke host the Baggies on Saturday afternoon, but find themselves firmly rooted to the bottom of the table after picking up a total of one point from their opening five games.
Asked whether or not players in the team had expressed frustration with the results and the attitude of new arrival Wilfried Bony, the former Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City boss was quick to put a stop to any speculation.
"Unfortunately at the moment we're a little bit of fair game for some in your area of work that think they can get easy headlines," he said. "It's all very, very predictable. Player unrest, problems in the dressing room.. They all come up in this situation.
"We've had a run of results that we're not happy about, but to question the players which is totally untrue. Wilfired [Bony] has come in and had a really positive impact on the group. We've been delighted with his character and what he's shown. In terms of what he's been able to produce on the pitch - goodness me he's not played too many games in the last number of years.
"He's three games into his career at Stoke City and he's getting up to speed. That's clearly what's happening but to question his attitude or what he's bringing to the party is totally wrong so we have to stop that right away."
Hughes went on to point out the Stoke had a similarly poor start to the campaign last season and ended up finishing in ninth position.
"The fact that it's at the start of the season, maybe it gets highlighted more and people think it's going to be a struggle this year. We don't think that way."
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