FOOTBALL, GOALS AND STATS Potters broken
‘GUTTED’ LAMBERT’S MEN ARE DOOMED TO THE DROP AFTER 10 YEARS IN PREM
Bournemouth1 Swansea Everton
Leicester
Stoke Watford
West Brom 1 Southampton 1
0 West Ham
1 CPalace
2 Newcastle
1 Tottenham
HEARTBROKEN Paul Lambert struggled with the emotion of Stoke City’s relegation and said simply: “I’m gutted.”
Lambert’s 14 games in charge have seen him win just one, draw seven and lose six as Stoke crashed out of the big time after 10 years in the Premier League.
But he vowed the doomed club will come back bigger and stronger next season after a major rebuilding of his first-team squad. Lambert said: “I’ve only been connected with Stoke City for a couple of months but I absolutely love it here. In fact, it’s a long time since I’ve felt quite as at home as I do here.
“My emotions are up and down. I’m feeling for everyone connected with the club.
“Since I came in, the lads have given everything but we came up short.
“So near and yet so far. The emotion of the game is still in my head.
“I’m gutted for everyone at the football club. It’s a brilliant club and we will rebuild and be back really strong. The football club will come back fighting because it has incredible support behind it.
“It’s probably not too dissimilar to Glasgow where I’m from. A hard-working place and we have to bounce back.
“I thought the first half of the game we were well in it and got a really top, top goal.
“In the second half we never got going, very like the second half against Burnley. We’ve had leads and not seen it through in the last few games.
“You can’t fault the guys’ endeavour, workrate and their drive.”