Leeds boss Kevin Blackwell sees the promotion credentials that will take the Whites to the Premiership.
Eddie Lewis grabbed the crucial strike with 22 minutes remaining, after Stoke’s Paul Gallagher had an 18th-minute penalty saved by Neil Sullivan.
Potters substitute Hannes Sigurdsson and Michael Duberry were denied by the woodwork in the closing stages and the visitors held on for the win.
Victory moves United above Watford into third place but they remain 11 points behind second-placed Sheffield United and 20 points behind leaders Reading.
Blackwell: ‘People say ‘How do you get promoted?’ You need Lady Luck to smile on you, you need to have the balls and the physical desire to have a fight if you need to, then you can win it by good football.
‘It’s a whole raft of things and the players are showing the work ethic and the desire to put their body on the line when they need to.
‘But we’ve got skill as well with the likes of Eddie Lewis, David Healy and Robbie Blake, who can open people up. Even the ball boys are 6ft 4ins here and we had to stand up to it.’
Blackwell disagreed with the penalty decision in the first place but, in the wake of the 3-1 victory over Coventry, is happy with back-to-back victories, with matches against Hull and Plymouth to come.
He continued: ‘It was a good save.
‘We’ve got to give credit to the staff because we do work on teams, what they do and how they do it, and we knew Gallagher would take the penalty that side.
‘It’s the start of a solid Christmas and it’ll be a great Christmas if we can get all the results between now and Plymouth.
‘To sit with two wins is a nice feeling, there’s no doubt about that.’
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