Stoke City manager Paul Lambert has admitted that the club have begun planning for a potential drop down into the Championship next season.

The Potters are currently 19th in the Premier League table and four points from safety with just three games of their season remaining, starting with a tough trip to Liverpool this weekend.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the game, Lambert, who replaced Mark Hughes in January, revealed that he has already started the process of identifying targets for a Championship promotion campaign but described such efforts as a "Plan B".

"We know the two scenarios so we can't be naive and bury our heads in the sand," he said. "We spoke about it a couple of weeks ago - plan A and plan B - as you would expect.

"It's up to us to get them in. We have to get guys in here that want to play for the club first and foremost, who want to be here and want to work and do the right things. That's paramount for us."

Stoke have been in the Premier League since 2008.