Stoke City centre-back Luke Graham said the squad will continue to "not look back" after turning round their difficult start to the Championship season in emphatic style.

The Potters began the league campaign with three defeats but have bounced back superbly with a run of six wins in their past eight games, with their only loss coming in added time against Middlesbrough.

That run has taken Mark Robins' side up to sixth place after 11 matches, as the club target a successful bid for promotion back to the Premier League after what would be nine years.

Summer signing Graham, 22, has been an increasingly impressive presence in Stoke's new-look back three and scored his first goal for the club in the 1-0 win at Derby on Saturday.

"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."

Since Robins switched to three central defenders after their 4-1 defeat by Wolves at the end of August, the Boro loss is the only blemish for Stoke, who have beaten Norwich, Charlton, Watford, Sheffield United and Bolton - the latter with 10 men - and drawn at Cardiff.

"That shows the kind of characters we've got in the dressing room," Graham 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."