Steven Schumacher: I know we’ve got the right characters to get the results Stoke City need
News from the bet365 Stadium as Stoke City fight to stay in the Championship
Steven Schumacher insists he has confidence in the characters in Stoke City’s changing room to help the club achieve Championship safety.
Stoke have been pulled down to 19th in what seems like a 10-club fight at the wrong end of division, including bottom club Rotherham, who are now 14 points adrift. From Birmingham City in 15th to Queens Park Rangers in 22nd, there is only a difference of six points with 13 matches to play.
Stoke are one of five teams in the bottom half to have lost five of their last six matches, including Cardiff – who are only two points ahead of Birmingham and host Stoke this weekend, determined not to be dragged into the dog fight.
Schumacher is juggling a big squad – there were 11 senior players who were not in the match day 20 against Coventry last Saturday – and there have been questions about discipline following Ryan Mmaee’s relegation to train with the under-21s.
The head coach, however, believes he can trust on players to fight for the badge. He said: “It’s a big game but they all are. There are 13 games to go and loads of teams in the bottom half of the division in the same situation as we are. We’ve got to make sure that we’re ready to stand up for the fight and that’s what we keep asking the players to do. I know we’ve got the right characters in there to get the results we need.”
Wins for QPR and Sheffield Wednesday last weekend cranked up the pressure on their rivals at the bottom and it’s the time of the season when supporters at all clubs are keeping a closer eye on results from around the grounds.
