Stoke City transfer update as Dean Holden delivers verdict on Bristol Rovers defeat

Stoke City assistant manager Dean Holden has stressed the importance of decisiveness in the side's play following a friendly defeat at Bristol Rovers.

Stoke were beaten 2-0 at the Memorial Stadium to wrap up a triple header of warm-up games against League One teams; following a defeat at Accrington Stanley and draw with Fleetwood Town.

Every year there is a warning not to get carried away by results in pre-season whether they are defeats or wins, but Holden admitted: "I think everybody does outside of the dressing room. You have to have a balanced view on things. We see the players every day. We know the group we're working with.

"We certainly know where we need to improve. I think we've seen that in the Accrington game in particular and this one. There are moments in our game we need to eradicate. If you look at the 10 minutes even before the penalty there was a little bit of indecision which crept into the game which we didn't see in the first half, when we were decisive in our play and we look a decent team when we play like that, on the front foot with decisiveness. We have to improve the final product at the end of the attack which is the most important thing.

"In the second half we came out and there was a little bit more indecision around the back and it gave some momentum to the opposition. The penalty was a good save from Joe having made a mistake in the build-up. It's moments like that, we have to play with decisiveness, play without fear."

Stoke have brought in five new signings so far and hope to add more before the season starts on July 30 at Millwall. They are trying to bring in a striker that would give supporters a significant lift, although the window remains open until September 1.

Holden said: "We're