Stoke City news via StokeonTrentLive, as Alex Neil previews the Championship meeting with Bristol City.
Alex Neil believes he is still keen to succeed at the bet365 Stadium, but he understands Stoke City fans’ dissatisfaction after a poor start to the Championship season.
After eight league games, Stoke have only two victories and five defeats to their name. They were also knocked out of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday after a 2-0 third-round defeat at Premier League Bournemouth. So far, they have only one point to their name on the road.
But, before of Saturday’s (3pm) match at Ashton Gate against Bristol City, Neil said his team had still put in good performances, despite lapses in concentration and errors.
“Games have been very, very tight,” he remarked. It’s been a case of can we take a chance, make sure we don’t make any stupid mistakes, and it’s been a pretty tight affair. We didn’t perform well in the Hull game (a 3-1 home defeat last weekend), but I believed we did well in the game before that and weren’t far away.
“[We need] more emphasis, effort, and focus on being determined to get the result in the next game.” And then, I believe, it relieves some of the strain from the next game, and from there, can we go and get the next result and the next result after that?”
Neil admits he isn’t concerned about Stoke’s current form since he has been in similar situations previously and come out on top. “First and foremost, I’m just determined to make sure we get the next result,” Neil said.
“I believe in football, as we’ve seen numerous times this year, things change all the time based on one result.” It’s strange how momentum can shift. I thought we started a few games quite well this season, put in a few solid performances, and I believe the Hull game was probably where we didn’t perform well, which was more demoralizing than anything else.
“I’ve been in these situations before; I remember Preston, we finished seventh in my first year.” The following year, I attempted to evolve the style slightly because we were fairly direct the previous year and I wanted to move them to the top six. We’d have to move the ball more effectively and maybe take greater ownership of it. I believe we did well in the first ten games before hitting a snag. We drew 3-3 with Aston Villa.
“We were on a run, and if my memory serves me correctly, we lost two in 15 seconds, so I’ve been in these situations before and know what it looks like.” I comprehend people’s feelings. What I can’t get for myself is not to be distracted by what other people think. I just have to concentrate on the task at hand, which is exactly what I’ve done and will continue to do.”
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