Steven Schumacher holds staff and Stoke City player meetings as Ricky Martin replaced by Jon Walters
News from Clayton Wood as Stoke City prepare for a trip to Cardiff at the end of an important week for the club
Steven Schumacher held meetings with staff and players on Friday to address the departure of Ricky Martin, urging everyone at the club to stride forward with positivity.
Stoke City top brass made the big call this week to end Martin’s 15-month tenure as technical director, during which time he has been a key figure behind the many major decisions in every department on the football side of the business. The move comes at a time when Stoke are fighting for their lives in the Championship, with 13 games to go to save their status. They head to Cardiff on Saturday (3pm kick-off) hoping for vital points in a 10-team battle at the bottom.
Schumacher was asked if and how the exit of an influential character – albeit outside the match-day changing room – will impact first team matters and admitted: “It’s the first time I’ve experienced it, so the honest answer is I don’t know yet. I think it’s important for us to try to stay focused on our jobs and what’s at hand. Ricky was a big part of what was going on here with Stoke and it’s not nice for anyone to lose their job, but the decision was made and we have to try to keep moving forward as best we can.
In the meantime, we’ve got Jon, who has come in and helped by taking up what Ricky’s role was while John Coates has said the recruitment process will go on for a new technical director. In the short-term, the job for us is to carry on as normal, work as we do and focus on what’s important, which is picking up points.
“I spoke to the staff (on Friday) morning, all the first team staff and from all the departments and said, ‘Look, this is the decision and now we have to be positive’. I explained that to the players too when they came in, and we wish Ricky all the best. It’s not easy when anyone loses their job, but this is football. It’s a real tough industry and it can happen. You just have to get over it and focus on the next game, which is what we’ll try to do.”
Martin has been replaced on an interim basis by Jon Walters, who was Clayton Wood on Friday before driving down to watch the under-21s play Aston Villa. He will pop back to the bet365 Stadium to support the annual Big Sleep Out to tackle homelessness then be in the stands at Cardiff on Saturday.
Schumacher added: “Jon knowing the club is a huge benefit. He knows staff who were here from his playing days, he knows what a Stoke City player should look like. He knows the club better than most people I would guess considering how long he was here and the amount of games he played. His role at the moment is to support myself and give the rest of the staff his guidance when needed.
