FLOPS TOLD: YOU OWE STOKE

MICHAEL O’NEILL has told Stoke’s expensive flops that they owe it to the club to beat the drop.

The Potters, relegated from the Premier League in 2018, are in the Championship drop zone after failing to win since the restart.

And boss O’neill (right) has delivered a stern wake-up call to his squad ahead of Barnsley’s visit following a 3-0 defeat at Wigan.

O’neill said: “There’s a lot at stake. They owe the club that.

There’s been a huge amount of investment in this team and at the end of the day it’s not borne any fruit, to be honest.

“What we saw at Wigan was an attitude from a group of players who need to quickly turn things around to approach Barnsley.

“You have to be braver to play, you must have the appetite to compete. Those are the basics we’re talking about – running and pressing and dealing with the ball under pressure.”