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Stoke City manager Paul Lambert defends disciplinary crackdown as defender Erik Pieters returns after his curfew punishment

Stoke City manager Paul Lambert says he has 'no regrets' for a disciplinary crackdown in the middle of his club's relegation fight.

Lambert fined and dropped Dutch defender Erik Pieters for last weekend's defeat against Everton after he broke a curfew and last week told midfielder Ibrahim Afellay to stay away from training following a bust-up.

Pieters is due to return for Sunday's game at Arsenal with Stoke one-off-the-bottom after seven games without a win. The left-back was pictured with wife Nermina, star of TV's Real Housewives of Cheshire, at a Hale nightclub the night before Stoke played Everton.