Alex Neil is of the opinion that Stoke City’s impressive week with three consecutive wins demonstrates the team’s potential. He acknowledges the need to prove this potential to the fans, who have been skeptical about the team’s previous unfulfilled promises.
Stoke City is hopeful that their recent back-to-back victories against Sunderland, Leeds United, and Middlesbrough, coinciding with the return of key players from injuries, will reinvigorate their season. These wins have propelled the team into the top half of the Championship and placed them just four points away from the playoff positions in a highly competitive league.
However, Neil is aware of the significant challenge ahead, which is to sustain this success. It’s worth noting that this is only the second time in seven years that Stoke has won three consecutive league matches. With a formidable Cardiff team next on the schedule at home, the last time Stoke managed to win four in a row was back in late 2011, following their relegation from the Premier League.
Neil commented, “I believe it illustrates our potential and what we can achieve. We’ve been discussing this potential even during our matches against Southampton and Leicester. However, it’s important to keep in mind that during the Leicester game, we had a central midfielder playing as a center-back, another central midfielder playing as a left-back, and an 18-year-old leading the attack. It’s quite challenging to compete with top teams when you have several key players sidelined.”
He added, “This is probably the first time when we have a relatively stable lineup and have all our players back on the field. We’ve managed to string together three outstanding performances and results. We won’t become overly optimistic because Stoke has seen many false starts in the past. Nevertheless, I believe we have remarkable potential and room for improvement. I anticipate a strong performance from us this year.”
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