 He made his Stoke City debut on 16 October 2001 in a Football League Trophy match against Blackpool, coming on as a 75th-minute substitute for Clive Clarke.His influence on the first-team may have been greater had it not have been for some unfortunate injuries which ruled him out for the entire 2002–03 season.He had to wait until the 2003–04 season to start playing again, starting the League Cup first-round tie against Rochdale.