Lambert trusted to sort Potters’ leaky rearguard
THE Manchester rain was clattering on the main stand roof and Paul Lambert, whose tanned complexion suggested he’s been somewhere more sustaining than the freezing depths of a Premier League dogfight, looked like a man who wondered what he’d stumbled in on. The Scot is unlikely to have spent yesterday flicking though the thousands of comments on Stoke City’s announcement of his appointment, but they didn’t look pretty. ‘Disgusted’, ‘last straw’ and ‘season ticket for sale — £1.50’ all featured. Rarely has a managerial announcement seemed more panicked and imbued with less ceremony. It seems someone forgot to tell the team and coaching staff, who found out on social media. But although Lambert’s win ratios don’t make attractive reading either — 24.8 per cent at Aston Villa and 31.6 per cent at Norwich — the evidence of another desperate night suggests that they would be wise not to sniff at him in this kind of crisis. The problem with Stoke is the same one that Manchester City faced when they parted company with Mark Hughes in the winter of 2009: a defence with the properties of a colander. Abu Dhabi offered City help to resolve the problem, although Hughes, being a proud individual, didn’t feel he needed it. The same myopia had led him to feel that there was no one better to get Stoke out of this fix than him. But they’ve leaked seven more goals than the next worst defensive side in the Premier League and shipped a greater total than any other side in Europe’s top five divisions. Put aside Lambert’s charisma bypass — ‘there is a personality in there somewhere, but he likes to reserve it for those closest to him,’ readers of the Stoke
Sentinel were advised yesterday — and you will find someone capable of putting right the organisational mess that lets other sides walk through the team at will. ‘Paul greatly impressed us with his knowledge of our squad and had a clear plan of how he would improve our results,’ said chairman Peter Coates yesterday. ‘He’s a man who backed himself as a player, none more so than when he turned down contract offers in Scotland to go on trial in the German Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund and it’s obvious he adopts the same approach as a manager.’ Lambert is understood to want his old Wolves coach Stuart Taylor, who agreed a short-term deal to work with Rangers’ Development Squad just last week, on his staff. Stoke sacked Hughes ten days ago, just hours after an embarrassing FA Cup exit at the hands of Sky Bet League Two club Coventry and with the Potters mired in the top-flight relegation zone. Derby’s Gary Rowett, Espanyol’s Quique Sanchez Flores and Republic of Ireland boss Martin O’Neill were all considered targets, but the former signed a new contract last week and, over the weekend, the other two ruled themselves out of contention. Lambert, who has previously managed Wolves, Blackburn, Aston Villa and Norwich, emerged as the preferred candidate and the club have acted swiftly to appoint him. Vice-chairman John Coates said it was imperative the new manager had Premier League experience. ‘Paul has been successful in management at clubs with a strong and stable background and with local ownership — the kind of foundation we are able to give to our managers,’ he said. ‘We look forward to working with Paul and supporting him to help achieve our goals.’