Stoke City executive takes responsibility for Narcis Pelach appointment | OneFootball

Stoke City sporting director Jon Walters admitted the signing was a mistake in hindsight

Stoke City sporting director Jon Walters has taken full responsibility for the failed appointment of departing boss Narcis Pelach.

Pelach was only given the job three months ago, but managed just three wins during his short tenure.

They currently lie in 19th place in the table, leading Walters and his fellow decision-makers to pull the trigger, hoping to stop their slip into a relegation battle.

The sporting director was quick to take the blame for the appointment, which has clearly not panned out as originally envisaged.

Stoke admit misstep with Pelach

Pelach’s Potters gig was his first senior managerial role in the English game, arriving off the back of spells as assistant manager at Huddersfield Town and Norwich City.

Walters took a gamble on Pelach taking the next step up, but it was a step too far and too soon based on Stoke’s results, and the Potters executive held his hands up to that fact in the club’s official statement.

Walters said: “Narcís is a talented coach with huge potential, he works relentlessly hard and I have no doubt that he will go on to achieve success in the future.

“However, with the way results and performances have been in recent weeks, we have to accept with hindsight that he has proved not to be the right fit for this club at this time.

“I take full responsibility for that and I’m absolutely determined that we will now make the right choice to take us forward.

“Every decision we make is driven by our love of Stoke City and absolute determination to bring success to the Club.”

Stoke’s position warranted change

Despite Pelach’s sacking coming so soon after his appointment, the need for a change at Stoke was clear.

The 36-year-old coach took charge of 18 Championship games in total but managed just three wins, giving him a points-per-game average of just 0.89, with one of those wins coming against league strugglers Portsmouth.

With still half of the season to come, the Potters’ position is salvageable, but without a win in their last nine matches, and just three points above the drop zone, they were, and still are, at risk of being dragged into a relegation fight.

That would be a disastrous outcome for a club that has not been outside England’s top two divisions for over 20 years, and with Walters taking responsibility for the Pelach misstep, there will be a lot of pressure on his shoulders to get the next one right and avoid the worst-case scenario.

Interim appointment for Sunderland game should boost feeling at the club

The club are yet to announce who the next permanent manager will be, but their interim appointment, Stoke legend Ryan Shawcross, should at least provide a boost to the feeling around the club in the short term.

Shawcross made 453 appearances for the club in his playing career and is well-loved at the bet365 Stadium, so will have all the fans behind him for however many games he has in charge.

It’s a smart decision which should hopefully deliver a fast and much-needed boost, but Walters will be all too aware that the biggest decision still awaits.