Stoke City: 'The hard work starts now' - Michael O'Neill after Potters avoid relegation
- Published
Lee Gregory scored the only goal of the game as Stoke City beat promotion-chasing Brentford
Stoke City manager Michael O'Neill says he is not celebrating despite securing the club's Championship survival after a 1-0 win over Brentford.
The Potters were bottom of the table when O'Neill took charge in November with eight points from 15 games.
However, 45 points from his 30 league games in charge ensures Stoke are safe with a game to spare.
"We have stayed in the division but we're not celebrating. We have to be careful," warned the Northern Irishman.
"There is a bit of relief because this club should not be in this position. We shouldn't be at this end of the table and we need to address that."
Lee Gregory's winning goal against Brentford, who missed the opportunity to move into an automatic promotion spot with the defeat, caps off a remarkable turnaround for Stoke under O'Neill.
Stoke were six points from safety and rooted to the bottom of the table before O'Neill's arrival from the Northern Ireland manager's job.
"Everyone had thought we had done enough with a point at Bristol City but it was nice to follow that up with three points against a team who have everything to play for," O'Neill told BBC Radio Stoke after Saturday's victory.
Despite the upturn in form, the 51-year-old warned that Stoke will have to continue their revival and stated that "the hard work starts now".
"Our intention is to be at the other end of the table. It might take a little bit longer, but the very least this club deserves is to stay in the Championship," he said.
"If you look at Leeds, it is two years since Marcelo Bielsa has been in and if you look at Brentford it has been a four or five year project for them - so we are not going to build an automatic promotion team in one transfer window.
"It is going to take a little bit longer than that, but we want to is build a team which can certainly think about promotion and challenge to be at the right end of the table."