Mark Robins is convinced he will get his teeth into whatever has been holding Stoke City back and put it right as he takes over as manager.
Stoke have ended marooned in the bottom half of the Championship over the last six seasons and Robins is the ninth manager since his Coventry side, then in League Two, knocked the Potters out of the FA Cup and spelled the end of Mark Hughes in early 2018.
But he spoke about how the club is still on a small list of jobs he would want – and how he will work with sporting director Jon Walters and chairman John Coates to make sure everything is in place to make sure there is a sustained change of direction.
He said at his first press conference in charge: “Does it surprise me (that Stoke haven’t been able to finish in the top half)? There’s obviously something that’s not been quite right and I think we will be able to get our teeth into that and put it right.
“This is something you have at any football club – you have to have the alignment and you have to have that understanding of where it is you want to go. I’ve got to be really clear with Jon, ‘This what I want, this is how I want the team to play, this is how we’re going to be able to play because of the players we’ve got, these are the type of players we need or this is what we need to do…’ in any area of the football club whether it’s analysis or fitness or whatever.
“It’s all got to align. If we can get to that point then things will move forward quicker and it’s transferable through football clubs but it is a skill and you can’t just jump in because you can easily make a mess of things but I think with both of our experiences, we’ll be absolutely fine and it won’t be through want of trying.”
Robins had been in charge at Coventry for almost eight years – pulling them up from League Two to compete for a place in the Premier League – but he was controversially sacked in early November for new owner Doug King to bring in Frank Lampard.
But he insists he has the energy and drive to get back to work with another big but different project, starting with a home game against Plymouth on Saturday (12.30pm).
He said: “Initially when I lost my job at Coventry I needed to come out and have a breather. To jump straight into another one after almost eight years would have been difficult. But I spent six weeks at home, enjoyed the time I had off and got to reacquaint with my wife, seeing her again after eight years. That was really nice… then she’s kicked me out of the house and said it’s time to get back to work.
“In all seriousness, I have a list in my head and it’s not a very long list of clubs and owners I’d like to work for and with and Stoke City is one of them. John Coates and the Coates family are renowned in football as really good, honest people and I’m really looking forward to working with them and for them.
“Initially, the meeting I had with Jon was outstanding. It outlined his determination, desire and belief to be successful for this football club and that aligns with what I want to do. I want to manage, ultimately, in the Premier League and this club should give or will give us all the opportunities to get back there.
“Everything is set up that way and a few have tried and been perceived to have failed but people will have moved it along, along the way. For us and for me now it’s totally different than coming in – each club individually is unique – and this will be a totally different experience to what I experienced at Coventry. It’s a lot further along than Coventry was at that point, when we were on the verge of going into League Two. This is a club that has got aspirations to go into the Premier League,
“Ultimately we have to understand how things operate here and then get things aligned and moving in the right direction. That’s what I’m tasked with, that’s what Jon is tasked with and we’ll be looking into everything and making sure that we’re moving forward together.
“The alignment is really important and we need everyone on board, like I said at Coventry City. We will need everyone on board to get the time to move it forward. It doesn’t happen overnight. There is no such thing as a magic wand and over time you move it, start to put building blocks in place and everyone sees that and everyone feels that within the football club.
“This club’s motto is United Strength is Stronger and that’s never truer.”
