Mark Robins says thanks to Stoke City faithful for what they did vs Watford
Mark Robins says thanks to Stoke City faithful for what they did vs Watford
Mark Robins has issued a thank you to Stoke City supporters for the way they got behind the team against Watford on the back of a sorry mid-week defeat.
Robins was pleased with the reaction from his players and how they approached a 0-0 draw with Watford, having been booed off after Tuesday’s home loss to Middlesbrough. It was a game of few big moments but Stoke came through a period of Watford pressure and then almost won it with late chances for Million Manhoef and Bae Junho. The draw keeps Stoke five points clear of the Championship drop zone with 11 games remaining this season.
“I’ve got to say that on the back of the week we’ve had coming into this game and Tuesday night’s game, it was important, really important, that we did something that was more like what we expect, what supporters expect, what the players can do, what they’re capable of achieving – but also getting players back who know the level, can contribute, is important,” said Robins.
“That’s against a team who have sprinters. To be able to deal with that is one thing but also play some decent football, or football that you can then start to build from, and get the stadium behind them.
“I’ve got to thank the supporters as well. I asked for them to get behind the team and they did it incredibly well today. I’ve got to thank for them for that. That’s something we can use for energy on the back of playing in mid-week when Watford didn’t. That always has an impact physically.
“To make changes was important but also we had illness in the camp. Milly was only cleared this morning to be on the bench, Lewis Baker is out ill, we’ve had illness in the first half of the week as well.
“Ali is carrying an injury as everyone knows so I’ve got to be really careful with him. That’s why he came off because he was doing all right, there was no other reason. He’d just started to slow down and when you start to tire there’s a risk of re-injury and you have to be careful with that.
“Also it gives other players a chance to get up to speed a little bit more. That’s not the reason for the change but it does that on the back of it.
“Milly came on. I started him on the right side and he started to get involved a little bit but he was never going to be able to run back because of the illness he’s had so I moved him into a position in the middle of the pitch and he gets a chance to win the game for us. He caught it ok but it was straight down the goalkeeper’s throat and that’s probably on the back of him not being 100 per cent.
“We had a couple of good chances. Junho has had a header, we’ve had a couple of bits and pieces around the box and we’ve hit the target twice, they’ve hit the target once. It’s not a classic by any stretch of the imagination but there were a lot of duels we’ve won – headers and tackles and one tackle that Pearson won was magnificent, I was delighted with it and it set the tone. It gets everybody up and behind them.
“I think there’s a lot of positives to take. The clean sheet was important and the point we’ll take. Clearly the only disappointment is that we didn’t score and win the game.”
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