Stoke City boss Michael O'Neill has praised James McClean for his performance in the 2-1 win over Wigan Athletic at the weekend.

The Republic of Ireland winger produced a man-of-the-match display on the left of a front-three to help Stoke secure back-to-back wins under O'Neill.

Despite going 1-0 down thanks to Sam Morsy's strike, a Danny Batth and a last-gasp goal from Mame Diouf secured an invaluable win for the Potters.

It was McClean who stood out throughout, though, causing Nathan Byrne no end of problems and whipping in a host of dangerous crosses.

After the game, O'Neill singled out McClean for praise - the 30-year-old is a player who he knows well, after almost changing his allegiance to Northern Ireland when O'Neill became gaffer in 2011.

Despite picking up a booking on the day, which means he will miss the trip to Cardiff City on Tuesday night, O'Neill hailed the winger for his impact at the weekend.

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Via the Stoke Sentinel, he said: "James had already switched (to the Republic) to be fair, I would say, I didn’t get a fair run at James! That’s water well under the bridge, let’s be honest. I’ve no concerns about that.

"He’s a good player. For me he’s a good Championship player, he’s been a Premier League as well, he’s played in big clubs so he knows what expectation is and against Wigan I thought he was really positive in everything he did.

"There were some great crosses into the box and I believe I can make James better. There are little refinements in his game that we can make."

The win over the Latics sees Stoke remain in 23rd spot in the Sky Bet Championship table, but they now sit level on points with Middlesbrough, who are outside of the relegation zone on goal difference.

The Verdict

We saw the best of James McClean at the weekend, and he will be desperate to make that position his own now.

He has been played as a left-back which hasn't really suited him - it limits him going forward doing his best work, and he isn't the best defensively.

But he was excellent at the weekend and he will definitely feel that he has done enough to keep his place there despite missing the upcoming clash with Cardiff on Tuesday night.