‘We’re at home and we want to try and keep that momentum that we started on Wednesday’
STEVEN Schumacher has taken a quick break out of his preparations to preview Stoke City’s home match against Coventry. Stoke are looking to secure back-to-back wins to haul themselves up towards Championship safety, building on a hard-fought victory against Queens Park Rangers on Wednesday night.
That midweek result ended a run of four straight defeats and changed the mood around the club, but there is still a great deal of work to do yet.
IT’S PART TWO OF A MASSIVE WEEK?
Schumacher: Part three of a massive week! Three game weeks are always tough and physically demanding.
It’s important you try to pick some points up in three-game weeks, so it was pleasing to get a big three points on Wednesday night, a tough game.
And we have to be prepared to be ready to go again against another good team tomorrow. So we’re looking forward to it.
HOW DID YOU FEEL DURING THAT EIGHT MINUTES OF ADDED TIME ON WEDNESDAY?
It felt like about 80 minutes. It had been so long since we’d won at home and you could sense the nerves and apprehension in the stadium.
You could probably see it in the players as well in that we were guilty at times of snatching at things and making rash decisions, but that’s probably understandable because of what had gone on previously.
I was pleased when it was over and there was relief, for the fans more than for anything.
YOU MIGHT HAVE TO TWEAK THINGS AGAINST A COVENTRY SIDE WHO WILL BE A DIFFERENT PROPOSITION THAN QPR?
Coventry play in a similar style. They have really good attacking players and can mix the game up well, they try to build from the back but also have players who they can go a bit more direct to as well, similar to QPR.
But they are one of the better teams in the division, in the top half of the table, in the play-off mix, and we know how hard the game is going to be.
We have to make sure we are prepared for that, defend and show as much commitment as we did in midweek, because that’s what it’s going to take.
It’s going to take everyone to stick together when we haven’t got the ball and we need to pass the ball better than we did on Wednesday night because Coventry, with the quality they’ve got, if we make mistakes with the ball and give it to them back, it’ll be a long game.
It just looked like there was a bit of nerves in the second half. We’d come off the losing streak we were on and with the home record that was there it was probably understandable.
I would have liked the lads to have passed a little bit more, but we just needed to find a way to win the game.
It is what it is sometimes. You can’t play nice football all the time, you have to win in different ways. That’s what we managed to do.
It’s important against Coventry that we get the balance right and if our team is going to be successful we’ve got to do both sides of the game – defend really well and cause the opposition a problem when we’ve got the ball. That’s what we hope to do.
YOU’VE JUST MENTIONED BALL RETENTION, WHICH SEEMED PARTICULARLY DIFFICULT IN THE SECOND HALF VS QPR?
THERE WERE SOME BIG CHARACTERS FOR YOU ON
WEDNESDAY AND THAT’S WHAT YOU’LL NEED AGAIN AGAINST COVENTRY?
It is, yeah. For a third game in a week you need some determination and energy, you need people who are going to be ready and prepared and fresh. It’s been a challenge.
It was a quite demanding, physical type of game on Wednesday and you need all your leaders, all your bravery on the pitch because that’s what it’s going to take.
We want another three points. I know Coventry are a good team, but we’re at home and we want to try to keep the momentum that we started on Wednesday.
YOU CAN’T SWITCH OFF. WE WERE LOOKING AT THE TABLE AND SEEING THAT WITH A BAD WEEK YOU CAN BE RIGHT AT THE BOTTOM AND A GOOD WEEK CAN LAUNCH YOU UP?
It was like that last year. It’s the first time I’ve experienced it as a coach and we’re in the thick of it. You understand what it’s like.
Teams who put in back-to-back performances and back-to-back results do well.
That’s what we’re hoping to do, get a bit of momentum and try to get away from the bottom end of the table.
WHAT WILL BE COVENTRY’S THREATS?
They’ve got a few. I know they left a few out the other night when they played Plymouth, but they’ve got a few different types of forward players and they rotate really well.
Haji Wright was on the bench in midweek and potentially he could come back in, they’ve got Matt Godden, who’s always a threat in the box.
I played with Matty a few years ago and know how dangerous he can be.
Ellis Simms is someone they paid a lot of money for.
Callum O’hare, if he’s available, is one of the best creative players in the league. Then the young Sakamoto has some speed and energy.
That’s just five players who are all ones to watch, who have done really well this season and are a huge part of the success that Mark has built in that team over the last few years.
DO YOU HAVE ANY INJURY PROBLEMS?
There’s a couple of niggles from Wednesday night and one or two late calls we’ll have to make on selection.
It’s nothing too major, just one or two decisions which the physios have asked us to take as long as we can on.
There’s only one long-term injury at the moment, Enda Stevens, so we have a good crop of players to pick from.
DO YOU HAVE A TIMEFRAME FOR ENDA STEVENS?
A couple of more weeks. He was out running this week with the physios and it’ll be another couple of weeks before he can join in with the group.
It was a hamstring strain that was relatively significant, so he won’t be back in the short term.
It was. It had been a couple of weeks since we’d won and ages since we’d won at home.
You have to remember those types of feelings and remember what it took to achieve it. We all got it, we all accepted it.
We’ve spoken about the other games and what we felt we hadn’t done well enough, and I felt we did that side of the game a lot better on Wednesday and got our rewards for it. That’s what you get.
WOUTER BURGER HAS BEEN IMPRESSING IN RECENT WEEKS AS CAPTAIN?
Yes, and he’s only a young footballer, only 23 (on Friday). He’s one of those who since we’ve come in has shown some really good attributes, he’s a really good footballer.
The club brought him here in the summer and he’s done really well.
Leadership-wise, he’ll get better the older he gets and his game knowledge and understanding of the game is clear.
He wants to get better and I’ve got loads of time for young players who want to do that. I’ve enjoyed working with him.
IT MUST HAVE BEEN REALLY NICE TO GO INTO THE CHANGING ROOM AFTER THAT MATCH ON WEDNESDAY AND SEE EVERYONE BOUNCING?