Stoke & Staffordshire

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Watch our pick of standout clips from Stoke and Staffordshire

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  1. A group of year five pupils sat down facing the front of a classroom. The students are wearing blue jumpers and blue polo shirts and none of their faces are visible.

  2. Plymouth Argyle's Aribim Pepple cups his hands to his ears as he runs to the fans to celebrate his match-winning goal.

  3. Pearson excited about Potters prospects

    Pearson: 'We can see where we are going'

    Ben Pearson hopes Stoke have turned the corner and can look forward to the Championship run-in with excitement.

    The Potters picked up just one win, and four points from seven games either side of Christmas, to drop to 10th in the Championship, as low as they have been all season.

    However three straight wins in January - league victories at Hull and Norwich, then Saturday's FA Cup win over Coventry - keeping a clean sheet in each, have lifted spirits at the bet365 Stadium.

    Midfielder Pearson told BBC Radio Stoke: "We're in a good place. December was a tough month, not the results we wanted, but the performances have still been reasonably good.

    "As long as performances are good, results will start to come and you've seen that over the past three games.

    "Confidence is high, we're in a good place. We can see where we are going, there's positivity and excitement about where the season can go.

    "We've got something to play for this year. There's no real big-hitters in the league - it's very even. There are probably 10 teams who could all get in those play-offs spots. We've played everyone now and there aren't many teams better than us on our day."

    QPR and Middlesbrough head to the Potteries on Saturday and Wednesday respectively and the 31-year-old added: "Winning breeds winning. We have got two home games and we're looking to take maximum points."

    Fans will also get to enjoy a home tie in round four of the FA Cup after Saturday's dramatic win over the high-flying Sky Blues ensured a home meeting with Premier League Fulham.

    "It's a good draw. Home is handy," said Pearson. "It's a Premier League team, not to be sniffed at. It's a good opportunity to go through, it's not a Man City or Arsenal, a big glamorous tie, it's one that's against really good opposition but we can try to go through."

  4. A black and white image of a woman in a black leather jacket, with long dark hair

  5. A bald man with glasses, wearing a blue suit, white shirt and purple tie reads a statement outside court flanked by family and friends

  6. Port Vale goalkeeper Joe Gauci in action

  7. This generic street image shows Cannock Road going from the bottom left to the centre of the photo. Buildings are on both sides of the street and the image is taken at a junction, with part of another road being visible at the bottom of the photo in the middle.

  8. Stoke City sporting director Jon Walters stands and applauds alongside club owner John Coates

  9. A group of people stood in front of a white mini van. In between them is the X-Ray machines that sits on top of a black tripod.

  10. An overhead view of two people holding a tray each, one red and one blue. They contain a plate, including food, and an apple. The red tray has two other items.

  11. Gavin Bazunu poses in a Stoke goalkeeper top

  12. A man wearing a black jacket stands and smiles at the camera. Woodland can be seen behind him.

  13. A group of men and and one woman with their thumbs up

  14. A man with dark hair and a beard is looking at the camera.

  15. A black and white photo of a woman in a black leather jacket smiling.

  16. A largely brown building is in the bottom half of the image. A fence is seen above it in the photo, which was taken outside.

  17. A mugshot of a man with short dark hair, with grey bits at the side, as well as a large dark beard and a dark top.

  18. Port Vale manager Jon Brady on the sidelines during the FA Cup third round win over Fleetwood Town

  19. Looking down on a large ornate brick building, with a steeped tiled roof, and a row of large windows.

  20. Ian Hillman wears a blue gilet and stands in front of the bar at his pub, a Sixteenth Century inn. He has a goatee, and is smiling.

  21. The entrance to Stoke On Trent City Council's Civic Centre.

  22. A woman with brown hair, a blue top and a blue and green scarf is holding a red high heel from the 1920s. there is a shelf of high heels in the background and a painting on the wall

  23. A small brown dog stands in the snow, which has a number of footprints in it. The dog looks slightly off to one side and has a light red harness around its neck.

  24. Cup win shows injuries won't halt Potters' progress

    Mark Elliott
    BBC Radio Stoke's Stoke City commentator

    three stoke city players in their red and white striped kits clap, with the middle one putting his right hand to his midriff.Rex Features

    Despite losing the consensus pick as the best goalkeeper in the Championship and all of their recognised full-backs, Stoke City's defence keeps keeping clean sheets.

    Ashley Phillips and Ben Wilmot have been immense at the heart of a back four that has become ever more patched up and were again in the FA Cup against Coventry.

    The players who have covered at left and right-back have done so bravely and intelligently.

    The biggest compliment anyone can give Tommy Simkin is that the young goalkeeper has not looked out of place since replacing the injured Viktor Johansson.

    He made a couple of smart saves against Coventry and will take immense confidence from the way he has acquitted himself over the past few weeks, never looking out of place.

    It is very difficult to succeed long term in the face of such issues, but two league wins and another in the FA Cup have left Stoke in a much better position than anyone could reasonably expect given the circumstances.

    But this was not a backs-to-the-wall performance by any means.

    Stoke created five or six clear-cut chances, had a goal ruled out for a close offside and Lamine Cisse's brilliant winner deserved to be decisive.

    Having taken time to adapt to English football, Cisse is offering a realistic alternative to the established Million Manhoef now as a genuine option in attack.

    Coventry hit the woodwork twice and had moments of their own but cannot claim they were hard done by.

    They are obviously an excellent Championship team and with players on their way back from injury and the transfer window still open, Stoke have once again shown that a cup run and a place in the play-offs are there for the taking.