Lambert: It’s Crystal clear

PAUL LAMBERT is confident his players will not buckle under the pressure of Stoke’s relegation dogfight.

The Potters are looking at two wins from their last two games to give themselves a chance of top-flight survival.

Today’s lunchtime kick-off against Crystal Palace is a must win, taking them into a potentially explosive do-or-die clash with Swansea on the last day, and Lambert says he will not even have to tell his players the kind of battle that lies before them.

“I don’t think you buckle under the pressure. You thrive on it and grab the opportunity and make sure we’re going to win,” said Lambert, above.

“Yes, it’s massive, huge. There’s no getting away from it. We have to go for it.

“I don’t think there’s any room for carrying anybody. We need everybody to step up and realise it’s a ‘must-win’ at all costs.”

Having been in a similar position several times in his 32-year career as a manager, Palace boss Roy Hodgson knows his players will be facing a team “with knives at their throats”.

“I expect them to be fighting, working, competing and giving every ounce of energy,” Hodgson said.

“We must keep our heads and make sure we do not get sucked into matching the kind of football City must play because of the situation they are in. The important thing is to put out of our minds the fact we have probably done enough to stay in this league and make certain we treat our last two games as we would had we needed to take points for survival.

“I am convinced Stoke won’t have accepted their fate, they will be desperate to win, we will have to play as well as we have in some recent games.

“I have great admiration for the way they have made such a battle of it.”