Stoke City centre-back Luke Graham said the squad will continue to "not look back" after the club turned around a difficult start to the Championship season with a strong run of form.
The Potters began the league campaign with three defeats but have recovered with six wins in their past eight games. Their only loss during this period came in added time against Middlesbrough. The run has taken Mark Robins' side up to sixth place after 11 matches, as the club targets promotion back to the Premier League after nine years away.
Graham, 22, was a summer signing and has become an increasingly important part of Stoke's defensive setup. He scored his first goal for the club in the 1-0 win at Derby on Saturday.
Adapting to the system
"For all the signings it was going to take a bit of time to adjust, especially having the system and coming in a few games after the [start of the] season, but as a group we adapted to that instantly really and I think we've not looked back since," Graham told BBC Radio Stoke.
"It's just about keeping that going, keeping my feet on the ground and knowing that I've still got to work hard because I've not made it, yet I've still got a long way to go in my career."
Defensive turnaround
Since manager Mark Robins switched to three central defenders following a 4-1 defeat by Wolves at the end of August, Stoke have won convincingly against Norwich, Charlton, Watford, Sheffield United and Bolton — the latter with 10 men — and drawn at Cardiff. Middlesbrough's added-time goal has been their only blemish in that period.
Graham highlighted the character in the squad as key to the improvement. "That shows the kind of characters we've got in the dressing room," he said.
"It's real tight, there's a togetherness, it's like a big family so we know going into any game we're going to fight throughout. We've faced a lot of different styles of football and I think we've handled the role in just about every game, so it's just about keeping that consistency and not getting too far ahead of ourselves. We're loving it at the minute, the way that we're playing and the way that we're battling for each other."