O’NEILL FACTOR SO VITAL FOR ACE TYRESE
STOKE forward Tyrese Campbell says that if it wasn’t for Michael O’Neill, he would never have committed his longterm future to the Potters.
Campbell signed a fouryear extension to his deal in January, only four days after scoring the winner in Stoke’s shock win at the Hawthorns against West Brom.
The youngster was loaned to Shrewsbury for the second-half of last season, and had been expected to form a significant part of then-Stoke manager Nathan Jones’ Championship squad this term.
But Jones opted to use the prolific goalscorer predominantly as an impact substitute, causing Campbell to question his future at the club.
“The only thing that was stopping me from signing it (the new contract) before was playing time, but now I’m getting that, the manager was honest and told me his plans for me so I thought the best thing to do was sign,” the 20-year-old said.
O’Neill joined Stoke after replacing Jones in November, and the Northern Irishman has helped the Potters climb out of the relegation zone, sitting 21st ahead of the weekend’s visit of Cardiff.
And Campbell, who had enjoyed a blistering run of eight goals in his last five league games, has certainly been taken by his managerial style.
“He’s changed things and ironed out the issues that were ongoing. He’s someone that you can respect and he’s honest, that’s all you can ask for as a player,” Campbell continued.
“He was a breath of fresh air and everyone looked more positive and happy. We played a system where we knew what we were supposed to do.
“The lads did what we could previously but now we’ve changed systems and we have started to get more wins now. He’s one of those managers where if you need anything, his door is always open.”