A huge change is surely expected at Stoke City this summer – Mark Robins won’t put up with it
Stoke City are surely set to undergo a real overhaul of their squad in the coming months, with Mark Robins due to take charge of his first summer transfer window at the bet365 Stadium and serious improvements needed following another disappointing campaign at the wrong end of the table.
The Potters headed into this season with the hope that Steven Schumacher would be the right man to take them forward in the Championship, after he had guided them to safety from relegation at the end of the 2023/24 campaign and then oversaw what looked to be a relatively successful summer window.
Schumacher was given little time to work with what he had, after being sacked in mid-September, to many fans and neutrals’ surprise, and the club took a gamble in appointing rookie Spanish head-coach Narcis Pelach to take the reins, which failed dramatically as he lasted all of three months in charge and was then relieved of his duties in December, after winning just three of his 19 games in charge.
In came Robins at the turn of the year, and he has been able to steady the ship in ST4, with the Potters set to avoid relegation to League One once again.
There are wholesale changes that need to be made to his squad this summer, however, and he will have to take no prisoners when it comes to key decisions in the club’s best interests as they look to finally improve and push up the league next season.
Mark Robins is planning a summer of real change at Stoke City
Stoke have struggled for stability since their relegation from the Premier League in 2018. The fact they are still yet to finish in the top-half of the Championship since then sums up their issues, which started at board level and have fed down into the coaches and players over the years.
Robins is a master of steadying the ship, as shown by his stellar job done in charge of Coventry City prior to his surprise sacking in November last year. The 55-year-old guided the Sky Blues from League Two to the Championship amid serious financial issues, and even took them to within a penalty shoot-out of being in the Premier League in 2023, as well as an FA Cup semi-final last year.
There is hope at the bet365 Stadium that he could have a similar effect on the Potters in the long-term, albeit on a smaller scale, but that starts with keeping things on track in the short-term. He has been able to guide them away from the Championship bottom three in recent weeks, and planning can now tentatively begin for next season in the second-tier.
The Sun have previously claimed that Robins will look for a major change in recruitment plans in the summer, having been alarmed by the thin squad passed on to him that is mainly made up of young players and inexperienced loan signings.
Stoke have moved to start planning for the summer with an appointment at board level, as Ian Torrance was appointed as their new Head of Recruitment last month following a stint in the same position with Italian side Como and previous experience at Southampton.
Sporting director Jon Walters has insisted that Torrance is “obsessed, works really hard and has a really good knowledge across the board,” so supporters could have a lot to look forward to if he is able to identify solid, realistic signings in the months to come.
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