Hughes sorry to be missing Ireland

Stoke boss Mark Hughes is disappointed Stephen Ireland cannot face his old club on Sunday but was not surprised Aston Villa were keen to ensure that would be the case when they let the midfielder join the Potters in January.

Ireland switched to the Staffordshire outfit from Villa on a season-long loan deal in September which was then made permanent in the winter transfer window.

He struggled to make an impact during his spell with Villa but has put in some eye-catching displays for Stoke, not least last Saturday when he had a hand in each of his side’s goals as they beat West Ham 3-1.

And regarding the contractual clause that will prevent the 27-year-old from trying to build upon that performance when the Potters visit Villa Park for Sunday’s Barclays Premier League contest, Hughes said: “It is one of those things.

“Aston Villa stipulated that they weren’t going to allow the loan deal to be changed unless it was in the contract that Stephen couldn’t play against them. We had to respect that, or we wouldn’t have got the deal done.

“It is a shame for us because Stephen was excellent last weekend against West Ham. But I think it shows Aston Villa understand what a good player we have got. So you can understand it from their point of view – they don’t particularly want to help us.”