Mark Hughes did not leave the touchline in his 400th match as a Premier League manager and his ten-man Stoke City side showed similar staying power to secure a hard-earned point against Southampton.
Hughes’s Premier League record after this clash reads 144 wins, 108 draws and 148 defeats in a club managerial career that began with Blackburn Rovers in 2004.
Out of all those draws, rarely will a stalemate have felt so sweet as his players ran themselves into the ground after the 23rd-minute dismissal of Marko Arnautovic.
Hughes is the sixth manager to reach the milestone after Sam Allardyce, David Moyes, Harry Redknapp, Arsène Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson.
“Sparky” has lost none of his spike; he was like a coiled spring on the touchline. Arms folded and a picture of calm one moment, frantically gesticulating and shouting at his charges the next.
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They needed every word of encouragement in a display underpinned by grit and determination.
Hughes, though, disagreed with the dismissal of Arnautovic for what appeared to be a rash high tackle on Morocco playmaker Sofiane Boufal.
The Welshman argued that it was “mistimed” and believes referees are too eager to dish out cards whenever they visit the Potteries.
“Officials come here and think an early yellow card slows down Stoke City,” Hughes added. “I know that’s a fact they talk about. But we haven’t played like that for a while.
“But referees seem to think they have to calm our players down with a booking.”
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He subsequently paid tribute to the efforts of his players as they showed discipline to repel Southampton’s second-half pressure.
Although Stoke goalkeeper Lee Grant only made one brilliant save of note — diving to his left to keep out a blistering drive from Ryan Bertrand — Hughes added: “It was a great rearguard action from ourselves. To a man we were excellent. It would have been easy to accept our fate, but I knew I had players who would dig in.”
For opposite number Claude Puel there was frustration that his side were not able to capitalise on their numerical advantage at the bet365 stadium.
“It was a good opportunity with 11 against 10 and we were a little more nervous in the first half,” said the Frenchman.
“Sometimes we were unlucky. We know it’s difficult to play against a team with 10 men. It was not enough with the quality.”