Monday 25 August 2014 13:56, UK
Stoke manager Mark Hughes has revealed summer signing Bojan Krkic was left out of the starting line-up to face Hull City at the weekend due to tactical reasons.
The former Barcelona, Roma, AC Milan and Ajax striker played 90 minutes in the defeat by Aston Villa on the opening day of the season but was relegated to the bench for Sunday's 1-1 draw at Hull City.
Hughes preferred a starting XI with more Premier League experience at the KC Stadium, with Peter Odemwingie and Marko Arnautovic supporting central striker Mame Diouf.
Bojan was summoned shortly before half-time after an injury to Glenn Whelan and, though he was brushed aside with ease in the build-up to Hull's opening goal, went on to provide the key cross that led to Ryan Shawcross' equaliser.
Hughes admits his star signing was left out for tactical reasons and expects him to be at his best and making a case for regular selection soon.
"The thinking with the team was that it was a difficult away fixture - a lot of teams come to Hull and struggle to get anything - so we just thought this was a situation where we needed to be nice and solid in midfield, with a strong, experienced middle three," said Hughes.
"At the moment we're just trying to bring everyone up to the correct level, then shirts are up for grabs.
"I was going to do make a change in the second half anyway (before Whelan's injury), we needed to take one of the defensive midfield players off and get Bojan on.
"It was difficult to find him, we were a little bit out of sorts, but I thought he did okay. He showed glimpses of what he'll give us this year."
