LAMBERT PRIDE IN RYAN
STOKE manager Paul Lambert has hailed skipper’s Ryan Shawcross bravery.
The 30-year-old played in Monday’s crunch match at West Ham despite the sudden death of his dad less than 24 hours earlier.
Lambert said he offered the big defender the opportunity to skip the game the minute he heard of the player’s loss.
But Shawcross played an inspirational role in the 1-1 draw which kept up Stoke’s chances of avoiding relegation.
Lambert said: “His performance in that game is what this club is built on.
“I just said to him afterwards that I thought both his mum and dad would have been proud of him. It was a colossal performance. He wanted to play and not only that, he was outstanding.
“I heard that something catastrophic had happened and so I said to him he could go home.
“But he played and he has gone up even higher in my estimation for that.”
Lambert said he felt sick when substitute Andy Carroll scored a stoppage time equaliser for West Ham to snatch two vital points from Stoke’s grasp. The Potters’ boss believes his men need three wins starting with the home clash against Burnley tomorrow.
“We’re in a fight. But we’ve been playing well. I think we need three out of four regardless.
“But we will be going for it. We’re not hiding from it.
“We’ve not had much luck lately but we will just have to make our own.”