Josh Laurent: Stoke City captain says beating three promotion hopefuls in a week is 'huge'
- Published
Josh Laurent began his career at Queens Park Rangers and joined Stoke from Reading in June 2022
Stoke City captain Josh Laurent says beating Championship promotion contenders Middlesbrough, Leeds United and Sunderland is "huge" for their own belief that they can go up this season.
The Potters' impressive 2-0 win at in-form Boro on Saturday followed victories over Leeds and the Black Cats in their previous two matches.
The results have lifted Stoke to 11th place, four points off the top six.
"We've had a great week. It's been really enjoyable," Laurent said.
When the Potters were beaten by leaders Leicester on 7 October, Alex Neil's side were 21st in the table, only two points above the bottom three.
It was their sixth defeat in eight games - a run that included only one win and their exit from the Carabao Cup.
However, the international break has appeared to work wonders with Stoke seeing off three teams fancied to be in the frame for promotion in seven days - and Laurent says it is clear what that has given the squad.
"Belief," he told BBC Radio Stoke. "Belief that we are good enough and we can do it. We just need to take it game by game and keep going.
"We're as big as them. We're not scared of anyone and it's just proven to ourselves that we can do it.
"We need to stay humble, but we do believe in ourselves and we're not going to shy away from it - the aim is promotion. That's what we're going for."
Laurent said it felt "different" being on the bench for the wins over Sunderland and Leeds, but added it was "not about me - it's about the team and the boys were fantastic".
Having gone through a rebuilding process over the summer with 18 new players coming in, Laurent believes manager Neil is starting to get the best out of his squad.
"It's hard when there's a big turnover like there was and everyone's getting to know each other and get a style of play together," he said.
"The gaffer is trying to find out what's right for everyone, and since the international break he's got it spot on.
"It's huge for us, but we've got to keep our feet on the ground."
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