Upson knocked out by Stoke's fighting spirit

Matthew Upson wishes his relegated West Ham side possessed the heart and fight he has found at new club Stoke.

The defender has signed up for what promises to be exhausting season by joining a Potters team that hopes to be battling it out in the Premier League and Europa League this term.

Stoke are 90 minutes away from the Europa League's group stage, after beating Switzerland's FC Thun 1-0 away last week in the first leg of their qualification play-off. The sides meet in the decider at the Britannia Stadium on Thursday.

Upson reckons they can cope with fighting on two front, though, because they have a spirit he felt was missing during the Hammers’ doomed attempt to avoid relegation from the Premier League.

"People will say on paper that the West Ham squad was better than what they had here [at Stoke] last season, in terms of players," he said.

"Talent is maybe about 15-20 per cent in a team. The rest of it is all the other areas: discipline, organisation, commitment, spirit. all these things that play a far bigger part, in my opinion, in a successful team.

"Stoke prove this, in a way. Stoke’s success far outweighed what happened at West Ham - and there has to be a reason for that.

"There was clearly something missing, otherwise the club wouldn’t have got relegated."

That relegation for Upson came on the back of a hugely disappointing World Cup campaign with England in South Africa.

But he is now ready to stop licking his wounds and start again, having signed as a free agent at Stoke.

He added: "It was a tough year, there’s not a lot I can look back on in a positive nature, coming all the way from last summer. So, it’s refreshing to have a change and be in an environment like Stoke City.

"You learn a lot more from having years like that than from winning things.

"I’ve seen a lot of good things and bad things, as a player you try to take note of those and analyse them, understand them, put them to one side and move on.

"It’s difficult to talk about a lot of things, I’d be dredging stuff up but this is a clean slate for me in terms of a new club and a different environment.

"I’m relishing the opportunity to prove myself at Stoke."