Robert Huth hoping Stoke City can make their mark on the Europa League

Robert Huth – Stoke City, (Getty Images)

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Stoke City defender Robert Huth has admitted it is “fantastic” for the club to be playing in the Europa League next season and he is confident the players can perform on the European stage.

The Potters qualified for the tournament as FA Cup runners up, as winners Manchester City qualified for the Champions League, and Huth admitted that Stoke are desperate to qualify for the main tournament.

“It’s fantastic to be in Europe,” he told the club’s official website.

“Every player wants to test themselves at every level, and for us this gives us an opportunity to go out there and put the football club’s name on the big stage.

“It will be difficult with the amount of games we will have to play if we qualify, but we are footballers and we want to play matches. We will be going into the qualifiers with every intent on qualifying for the group stages of the competition.

“It’s also fantastic for the supporters of the club to be able to have the chance to come and support us in other countries, and really show the world how good they are.”

The former Chelsea man also looked back on last season and admitted it had been a stellar effort from Tony Pulis’ men who not only enjoyed a fantastic cup run but performed well in the league, narrowly missing out on a top 10 finish by just a point.

“It was a fantastic campaign for us. Obviously it ended it a little bit of disappointment losing the FA Cup Final and then just missing out on a top ten finish, but that shouldn’t deter from what was a very good season,” he added.

“We want to keep improving though and our objective will be to finish in the top ten. We were desperate to do it last season, and I think maybe we did deserve to, but unfortunately it just wasn’t to be. It certainly gives us something to aim for next season though.”

The end of the season saw Huth struggling with a knee problem, but the German revealed he had been having treatment and was hoping to return to fitness in time for the season’s kick-off on August 13.

It is certainly looking good at the moment,” he explained.

“I have been doing loads of running and gym work at the training ground and hopefully it will put me in a position where I am ready to get underway straight away.

“There are still a couple of weeks left until pre-season starts so I will keep doing my work, because it is hugely important not to be playing catch up with them once pre-season gets underway.”