Shortly after moving into his Cheshire apartment following his move to Stoke City, Xherdan Shaqiri was presented with an old Manchester United programme by one of his neighbours.

'It had a photograph of Mark Hughes on the front,' Shaqiri laughed. 'My neighbours told me he was a very good player, who scored very big goals. I just noticed his big thighs!'

Both neighbour and player were right, of course. Big thighs and big goals.

Xherdan Shaqiri is aiming to kick on as he starts his first full season at Stoke City

The Swiss is part of Stoke squad looking more up than down in the Premier League

Shaqiri impressed in fits and spurts last season but knows he must be more consistent

Now, a year on, Shaqiri is sitting in an office at Stoke's training ground being shown YouTube footage of his manager's greatest goal, a crashing scissor kick for Wales against Spain in 1985. A special goal, it is not dissimilar to the one Shaqiri scored for Switzerland just two months ago during Euro 2016.

'Yeh, that's not bad,' Shaqiri says, as he looks at the laptop screen. 'It's very nice. So which one was more special? Mine or his? Mine, I think. His was inside the box and mine was outside. And mine was straight from the air . . . '

Hughes, two doors away preparing for Saturday's Premier League match at home to Manchester City, would no doubt disagree, but would relate to Shaqiri's competitive instinct. The Stoke boss is thankful for the gifts of the forward he brought to Staffordshire from Inter Milan in the summer of 2015.

Part of a Stoke side who look up rather than down these days, Shaqiri helped his team beat Saturday's opponents comprehensively in this fixture last season. Two Marko Arnautovic goals won that game but to many it was the manner in which Shaqiri created both for his friend and team-mate that stood out.

The Swiss scored the goal of Euro 2016, similar to famous strike by his boss Mark Hughes

Shaqiri reckons his goal was better than Hughes' 1985 effort for Wales against Spain

Already this season, Shaqiri has found his own range, scoring with a brilliant free-kick to earn a 1-1 draw at Middlesbrough on the opening day. He was subsequently surprised to hear Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger suggest that some of his own Euro 2016 stars were still recovering.

'That's just a mental thing,' he said, tapping the side of his head.

'We had a long season and then we went to the Euros so that is very long. But I told the manager I feel good and feel fit and that's all that matters.'

After his displays at Euro 2016 Shaqiri is looking to carry his form into the new season

He says that fatigue from playing in a summer tournament is mental rather than physical

Last week's draw may yet prove more important than it looks for Stoke. Last season Hughes's players started slowly and took time to recover. The fact that Stoke beat City in December and then almost immediately lost at home to Crystal Palace points to another problem.

'We should have won that City game by more than 2-0,' Shaqiri said. 'It was probably the best game of the whole season and showed we can be at the very top level. But we did some not-so-good games against smaller teams so we must improve on that. That is the lesson we have to learn.'

If Stoke must find greater consistency then so must Shaqiri. Hughes has given him a platform. Previously in his career — under Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich and Roberto Mancini at Inter — the 24-year-old has suffered from what he perceived to be a lack of belief in him from his coaches.

Last season in the fixture against Manchester City Shaqiri starred in a win for the Potters

He set up Marko Arnautovic for the second goal as Stoke beat Manuel Pellegrini's team 2-0

On arriving at Stoke, one Swiss journalist asked him if it was written in his contract that he must be selected every game. He was only half-joking.

Shaqiri relies on confidence perhaps more than most players and it seems his relationship with Hughes will be key going forward.

'When I arrived at Milan there were thousands of fans at the airport,' he smiled. 'When I arrived in England there were no fans but the coach came to pick me up himself. It had never happened before and it was great.

'That meant that the club were prepared to do everything for me.

City, of course, are now under the stewardship of Pep Guardiola - Shaqiri's former boss

'When a coach gives you something, it's important to give something back to him on the pitch.

'I want to be better every day and do my best for him. I am not his best friend. We don't go for dinner or anything. But I do my work on the pitch for him. That is why he wanted to bring me here.'

Shaqiri will greet Guardiola cordially but warmth is not guaranteed. Signed for Bayern by Jupp Heynckes from Basle in 2012, Shaqiri won a Treble under the coach he described as 'a gentleman' in a 'perfect' first season only to figure less regularly once Guardiola arrived.

He only made 26 Bundesliga appearances in the following season-and-a-half before Guardiola moved him on to Inter.

The 24-year-old didn't enjoy the lack of transparency in Guardiola's approach at Bayern

XHERDAN SHAQIRI'S CV FC Basel 2001-09 Honours: Swiss Super League (2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12), Swiss Cup (2009–10, 2011–12). Bayern Munich 2012-15 Honours: Bundesliga (2012–13, 2013–14), DFB-Pokal (2012–13, 2013–14), DFL-Supercup (2012), Champions League (2012–13), Super Cup (2013), Club World Cup (2013). Inter Milan 2015 Stoke City 2015-present Advertisement

'He is a very good coach in terms of what happens on the pitch but his communication was not so good with me,' he recalled.

'In the end we won the title and I hope he can do it here with Man City, but it's a different league and a different team and this will be the hardest year ever in his career.

'You saw against Sunderland how difficult it will be for him.

'This league is more crazy than ever. The best players and the best coaches are all here now. It's amazing. This is a very tough league and we will see what happens for him.'

Guardiola has already created headlines at City by his decision to omit England goalkeeper Joe Hart from his team. When asked if the new City manager is likely to have explained his reasoning to Hart, Shaqiri laughed.

'No, no, no,' he said. 'Guardiola doesn't talk too much about this. He doesn't say to the players why. Of course sometimes that's difficult for a player, especially when you are working well and training well. And especially when he speaks around the media and says, "He is good, he is good. He is the best player". But then after, behind you, he decides that you don't play. That's difficult of course.

'I see (Hart) on the bench. I don't know the real problem but in every club there will be new problems. New coaches and new staff want to work with new players. Maybe they don't like this player. This is what happens at all clubs. Look at Manchester United with (Bastian) Schweinsteiger.'

Shaqiri speaks from experience, but for now all that is behind him. At Stoke they love their little playmaker, although not all as much as the supporter who has his name tattooed on his backside.

On the opening day Shaqiri got his season off the perfect start with a delightful free-kick

'I hear his wife wasn't happy,' laughed Shaqiri.

He was criticised by some pundits for moving to a smaller club after his years in the spotlight but claims not to care.

'I didn't listen to that criticism because it came from ex-players who didn't even have jobs,' he said. 'Why should I listen? I listen only to myself and they know now that they were not right.

Now the former Bayern Munich is targeting the Champions League with the Potters

'We are a good team. When you see the stats, we always have ball possession. Last season against Chelsea away we had more ball possession and that shows the quality we have.

'We can play football against anyone. Last season we finished ninth and we want to go further this time. Of course you want to play again in the Champions League.