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Stoke City secured a moral boosting and much-needed first win of the season last time out, winning 2-1 at Swansea City thanks to a late winner from Scott Hogan.

That win eased some of the ever mounting pressure on Stoke manager Nathan Jones, who had seen his side fail to win any of their opening ten Championship matches at the start of the campaign, but there will still be questions asked of him were the Potters to suffer a poor result against Fulham this weekend.

One of Stoke's biggest problems at the start of the season has been the lack of consistency in midfield, with Jones alternating between a diamond and three man defence, whilst also chopping and changing the players starting at the heart of midfield, which has left Jones' side too disjointed in the middle of the pitch.

The Potters, though, against Swansea seemed to have discovered a much better balance to the midfield, with Peter Etebo at the tip of the diamond, Sam Clucas and Joe Allen either side and Badou Ndiaye sitting at the base of midfield.

That combination allowed Stoke to maintain a much more solid midfield shape, with an improved connection to the back four, which enabled the Potters not to get overrun and outnumbered on the counter-attack, meaning they were able to deny Swansea spaces in between the lines.

Key to that was the performance of Ndiaye, who demonstrated his ability to break up play and intercept opposing attacks, as well as his ability to retain possession under pressure, allowing him to protect the back four and also build attacks from the base of midfield.

That is something that Ndiaye offers that no other player in Stoke's squad can match, with the 28-year-old's excellent positioning and reading of the game matched by his ability to win the ball back - and that is something which the Potters have lacked at times this season when he has not played.

Ndiaye, was making just his fifth league appearance of the campaign last time out, having spent last season on loan with Turkish side Galatasaray where he  enjoyed a productive spell making 23 appearances, and there was the expectation that he would depart the Bet365 Stadium permanently this summer.

However, having had to stay at the club, Ndiaye has shown real professionalism to get on with things and put the effort in on the training ground - and he is starting to show his best form for Jones' side, which could be crucial to the Potters putting together a consistent run of form to spark a revival in the coming weeks.

Having managed to keep hold of Ndiaye in the summer, Jones' side will be needing the midfielder to remain at the club during the January window, with the 28-year-old's form key to the Potters turning around their campaign and pushing up the Championship table.