Premier League: Mark Hughes set to become new Stoke boss

Former Queens Park Rangers manager Mark Hughes is expected to be appointed as the new manager of Stoke City by the end of this week. Negotiations between Hughes and the Potters have gone well so far according to media reports and the 49-year-old is believed to be the Premier League club's first choice. Former manager Tony Pulis left Stoke last week and suggested the board wanted "to take the club in a different direction". Wigan manager Roberto Martinez and former Sunderland supremo Martin O'Neill have also been linked to the job but Hughes, who has been out of a job since being sacked by QPR in November, seems to be the top favourite at this point. The former Manchester United, Barcelona and Chelsea striker started his managerial career with Wales in 1999 before managing at Blackburn starting in 2004. He left the club four years later for Manchester City, where he spent 18 months before being replaced by Roberto Mancini. Then he had a single-season spell at Fulham before being named QPR manager in January 2012. He managed to save the Loftus Road club from relegation that season, but was sacked just three months into the following term. The chairman of Stoke City's Supporters Club, Bryan Shaw, said the expected appointment of Hughes will not be universally popular among supporters. "From all the people available, he would not have been my first choice, although he has a reasonable record apart from at QPR," he said. "Not a lot of supporters wanted Tony Pulis back when he was brought back for a second spell in charge. That wasn't a popular decision because of his style of football. Probably half of the fan base was against him at first but he won the majority over. There is a feeling Hughes is similar. If you ask the majority of Stoke supporters, Mark Hughes would not be their first choice. That said, whoever the chairman appoints we have to get behind. We just have to hope he proves us wrong." The deal is not done yet though so if you fancy another manager to take the job you could be making some good money. Here are the odds for the top five favourites at the Stoke City manager's job at SkyBet: Mark Hughes - 1/12 Martin O'Neill - 16/1 Roberto Martinez - 25/1 Gus Poyet - 33/1 Neil Lennon - 33/1 Steve Bould - 33/1