Stoke City manager Mark Robins has admitted he was frustrated with aspects of his team’s 2-0 defeat to Sheffield United, although praised the overall performance.
The Potters had pulled themselves away from the relegation places earlier this month when they embarked on a five-game unbeaten run. Wins over Queens Park Rangers, Cardiff City and Sheffield Wednesday had eased fears of the drop, but back-to-back defeats against Leeds United and Sheffield United could potentially see their survival head to the final day next weekend.
Stoke do sit four points above the bottom three but results this afternoon could see that gap close. Should Luton Town beat Coventry City and Derby County earn at least a point at Hull City, Robins will have to prepare his team for a showdown at Pride Park in a week’s time.
Robins Shows Mixed Emotions
Coming up against two of the division’s top three teams over the past week was a case of bad timing for the Staffordshire-based side. They were dreadful during a 6-0 defeat at Leeds last week but had chances to hurt the Blades last night.
As such, Robins admitted his frustration at a missed opportunity but was pleased with his team’s overall performance. Speaking after the game, the ex-Coventry City boss said:
“You can only ask for 100 per cent from people and that’s what they gave. They gave me everything they had and we fell short with that lack of extra quality that they’ve got.
“We ended up in good positions but when we put crosses in we hit the first man and it’s so frustrating at times. We get good chances and the goalkeeper makes a save when you can lift it over his leg, he’s coming out, just check where the goalkeeper is and miss him and put it in the back of the net. I find those things so frustrating.
“But you can only ask for 100 per cent and they’ve given that. At times we’ve found it really easy to get through them and we played through them and ran past them and got into good positions but it’s that final little bit of quality and calmness. Junho in the first half should have scored after a really good move. We had Lewis Baker cut inside and nearly drew that one back into the far post. In the second half we had Ali Al-Hamadi’s chance and a shot for Junho when just a bit of calmness to hit the target was needed.”
Writer’s View
Stoke will be nervously watching the action play out this afternoon. If results go their way, they could be safe heading into the final day. If not, they will need to go to fellow strugglers Derby next week and get at least a point. This could be a huge week in the history of the Potters.
