"Hands tied" - Stoke City, Mark Robins demand set after Steven Schumacher era | OneFootball

The Potters have been urged to stick with their current boss and allow him time to build something at the bet365 Stadium

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Stoke City are a side that have struggled for consistency from top to bottom over the past few seasons, with a precession of managers walking in and out of the bet365 Stadium having failed to turn things around.

Mark Robins is the third boss this season after the dismissals of Steven Schumacher and Narcis Pelach, with the former Coventry City manager taking over a side who find themselves too close to the bottom three for comfort as we head into the run-in.

Former Sunderland man Andy Reid has called for the Potters’ hierarchy to give the new man in the dugout time to build something with the club he has inherited, with the 55-year-old proving what he can achieve over seven years with the Sky Blues in his last role.

With that in mind, we spoke to Football League World’s Stoke fan pundit Sam Harrison about his thoughts on what his side need going forward, with survival this season the main objective right now.

Stoke City, Mark Robins target set after Andy Reid verdict

It is still early days in his time at City, but Robins has hardly done much better than his predecessors right now, with two wins, four draws, and four defeats from his ten league matches in charge of the Potters.

The way that the Potters have operated in recent years, there would be nobody too surprised if the powers that be at the bet365 Stadium were already getting sweaty palms over their most-recent managerial decision, despite his past successes across the EFL.

After taking Cov from the fourth tier to the second, and within touching distance of the Premier League, Robins is a man who has proven he can achieve greatness if given the platform to do so, with Reid stating as much in a recent interview with the BBC, in which he said the current boss needs at least 18 months to make his mark.

That sort of patience is a premium with the Potters of late, with eight managers in the last seven years proving as much, but Harrison is in line with the sentiment portrayed from the former Republic of Ireland international.

When asked about Reid’s comments, the Stoke fan said: “I completely agree with what Andy said, it is one where there has to be a long-term target now, 110%.

“I think this season has been a reflection of what not to do, and the reason I am saying that is because we had Steven Schumacher and he had a pre-season where he brought his players in, then was sacked after five matches.

“That is his squad and he was still implementing his style. There should have been a long-term target with Steven Schumacher, and I would have loved to see where we went with him.

“If it was just an improvement in mid-table I would have taken that, because it is improvement from the other six seasons Stoke has had in the Championship.”

Having arrived at the club on January 2, Robins had no time at all to deliver any transfer targets to his new bosses, and immediately set to work on fighting off the very real threat of relegation.

As a result, City only added two loanees all month, with Ali Al-Hamadi being borrowed from Ipswich Town, and Josh Wilson-Esbrand spending the second-half of the season with the club from Manchester City.

The return of Lewis Baker [pictured] from a loan away at Blackburn Rovers must have also felt like a new signing for the club, with the ex-Chelsea man thriving in his new role with the club, while Nathan Lowe returned from a goal-laden spell at League Two leaders Walsall.

That still means Robins is playing with a squad that Schumacher built, and with those restraints put on the players at his disposal, there is a lot of sympathy from the fanbase for a man trying to get results against all odds over the past two months.

Harrison continued: “With Robins now, the aim is to stay up, we are still very much in the relegation picture and we have to stay up, of course we do. But with that, there are already reports that he is not best pleased with the squad.

“At the end of the day, these are players that he hasn’t brought in, he is just working with them. There is quality there, and I am sure Mark Robins knows that, but there are also players that just don’t fit his style, it’s as simple as that.

“Obviously he did have that January window, but he had his hands tied behind his back. We didn’t bring anyone in where he demanded the board for money to make a signing, and he had to deal with Tom Cannon leaving.

“He looked at the options in midfield and decided to bring Lewis Baker back. That’s a great decision for me, it was a really good call and I think he will be someone who has a renewed contract in the summer.

“Obviously you have Nathan Lowe as well, so I do think that squad-wise, he is working with what he has got. It will be interesting to see which players have their contract renewed or extended, and which ones just simply go.”

Stoke City face huge summer decisions as Mark Robins plan outlaid

If and when survival is obtained, Stoke have a massive job on their hands to turn things around this summer, with as many as eight players set to be out of contract, and five loan players returning to their parent clubs.

The aforementioned Baker is currently set to leave the bet365 Stadium if nothing changes, while Lynden Gooch, Jordan Thompson, Michael Rose, Emre Tezgel and Enda Stevens could all depart, as well as goalkeeping duo Jack Bonham and Frank Fielding.

With space in the squad to add some fresh faces, Robins can finally start to build a team in his own manner, and if the Coates family are prepared to back him with some funds during the off-season, things could well start to look a lot rosier in the following campaign.

That is a big ‘if’ though, with a club not renowned for its big money buys and even less renowned for its patience teetering on the edge of implosion once again, with Harrison urging them to back the man in the dugout when needed.

He continued: “It will be a shame because there are some players that have been at Stoke for a couple seasons, but it is one where there needs to be a bit of a revamp, and some harsh decisions need to be made that Stoke need.

“The club need to be making decisions like that, but there has to be a long-term target with Mark Robins. Hopefully he keeps us up, we can have a rebuild, maybe even higher up and changing members of the hierarchy at the club so we don’t get the same thing that happened this season.

“I think it is one where if we can give Robins the option of bringing in who he likes and giving him something to work with, we can have long-term targets under Mark Robins as he is going to give us that stability.

“It is time to have a real big rebuild in the squad, and I feel long-term progression only happens when there is a total revamp, and I think that is happening in the summer if I am being totally honest.”