Martin Smith: Stoke City poised to announce their arrival as top-10 team

JUST over a month ago we were fretting about a Stoke City record which had seen us win just five of our last 30-plus Premier League games and wondering where our season was going.

Five games, four wins and 13 points later and things look very different.

Now we are ninth in the Premier League table and have the second best defensive record in the top flight, second only to Manchester City.

We have lost just three times in 15 games and, if you didn't already know, this is our best start to a Premier League campaign yet.

That certainly doesn't mean everything is perfect, especially as Stoke goals remain a rare commodity, but things are starting to look good.

To have taken nine points in a week shows what we're capable off when we hit our stride.

We were easily the better team against Fulham, whatever nonsense Martin Jol wants to come out with, and the superb comeback against Newcastle showed what can be achieved when we try something different, as we did by throwing both Kenwyne Jones and Cameron Jerome into the attack.

But the win against West Brom was the real cherry on the cake, and not just because it adds yet another chapter to our dizzying story of success against our rivals from the Black Country.

No, we went to the home of a team who had been all but invincible on their own patch – having previously seen off the likes of Liverpool, Everton and Chelsea – and we beat them, restricting them to only one serious shot on target.

It was a victory built upon the rock solid and ever-dependable foundation of a defensive unit which is giving no quarter to even the toughest of Premier League forward lines.

I honestly wouldn't trade our two central defenders, Ryan Shawcross and Robert Huth, and goalkeeper Asmir Begovic for any comparable trio in the top flight.

It's always "party time" for the Potters faithful when we visit West Brom ... and the outcome is always the same.

Every time Stoke go there you think this has to be the time when fortune favours the home side, and yet we always manage to get the job done, frustrating the hell out of West Brom and their heads-in-hands fans.

If there is one game which proves that our season is now well and truly up and running then this must be it.

The belief and purpose we always seem to muster against West Brom should light the way forward for both the team and the supporters.

And if we can take that forward into the rest of our games this campaign could be our best yet in the top division.

As Tony Pulis admitted, we got a monkey of our backs at The Hawthorns by ending a run of 16 matches without an away win, and there's absolutely no reason why we can't now go to Villa Park this weekend and take another three points.

Our manager will give his usual pre-match press conference, when he'll highlight the dangers of the opposing team and tell us how much respect he has for their manager but, TP will sense the opportunity to chalk up back-to-back away wins.

Stoke's recent run of results has put them on the launch pad, and we're now all ready for lift off.

That doesn't mean we should get carried away and start expecting the unreasonable and unattainable, but we are on the cusp of a genuine opportunity at the moment.

We can argue about TP's starting XI, but there's no doubt in my mind that we have the personnel to get the job done.

The Premier League is wide open this season and opportunities exist which haven't previously been there for us before.

Neither of the Manchester clubs look unbeatable, Arsenal and Chelsea are scarcely world-beaters and Tottenham are always vulnerable.

As for Swansea, West Brom and West Ham, they are no better than us.

Those teams who really believe they can do it are in with a real chance of a top-10 finish this term at the very least. And I sincerely believe this is what we, Stoke City, should be aiming for.

We have paid our dues after four safe and steady seasons in the top flight and we have a real chance to step up to a new level.

And what better way for us to mark the announcement of our intention to expand the Britannia Stadium than to show exactly why we need those extra seats?

The Stoke support has remained rock-solidly committed to the club from day one of their arrival in the Premier League, and the interest will be even greater for a team who start to make their mark in the top half of the table.

It's been a great few weeks, so forgive me if I get a little carried away. TP and the team have hit their stride and I really do believe we have the chance to make that big step to the "next level" which the manager has mentioned so often in the past.

A steady start to the season has turned into a good one, and it's now in our own hands.