CARRY ON REGARDLESS
Potters head coach Schumacher focusing on picking up points after behind the scenes change
STEVEN Schumacher held meetings with staff and players on Friday morning to address the departure of Ricky Martin, urging everyone at the club to stride forward with positivity.
Stoke City top brass made the big call this week to end Martin’s 15-month tenure as technical director, during which time he has been a key figure behind the many major decisions in every department on the football side of the business.
It comes at a time that, and as a consequence of, Stoke are fighting for their lives in the Championship, with 13 games to go to save their status. They head to Cardiff this afternoon hoping for vital points in a 10-team battle at the bottom.
Schumacher was asked if and how the exit of an influential character – albeit outside the match day changing room – will impact first team matters and admitted: “It’s the first time I’ve experienced it so the honest answer is, I don’t know yet.
“I think it’s important for us to try to stay focused on our jobs and what’s at hand.
“Ricky was a big part of what was going on here with Stoke and it’s not nice for anyone to lose their job but that was the decision that was made and we have to try to keep moving forward as best we can.
“In the meantime, we’ve got Jon who has come in and help by taking up what Ricky’s role was while John Coates has said that the recruitment process will go on for a new technical director. In the short-term, the job for us is to carry on as normal, work as we do and focus on what’s important, which is picking up points.
“I spoke to the staff (on Friday) morning, all the first team staff and from all the departments and said, ‘Look, this is the decision and now we have to be positive.’
“I explained that to the players too when they came in and we wish Ricky all the best.
“It’s not easy when anyone loses their job but this is football, it’s a real tough industry and it can happen.
“You just have to get over it and focus on the next game, which is what we’ll try to do.”
Martin has been replaced on an interim basis by Jon Walters, who was Clayton Wood yesterday before driving down to watch the under21s play Aston Villa and heading to the bet365 Stadium to support the annual Big Sleep Out to try to tackle homelessness.
He will be in the stands at Cardiff today.
Schumacher said: “Jon knowing the club is a huge benefit, he knows staff who were here from his playing days, he knows what a Stoke City player should look like.
“He knows the club better than most people I would guess considering how long he was here and the amount of games he played.
“His role at the moment is to support myself and give the rest of the staff his guidance when he needs.
“It’s little organisational things, making sure everyone is on the same page, making sure the recruitment team are prepared to go into the next window.
“That’ll be his short-term focus as well.
“I’m really grateful that he’s here to help and hopefully we can have some success.”
Schumacher and Walters have not worked together previously but their relationship goes a long way back.
“We ran across each other a lot in our youth team days,” said Schumacher.
“He was playing for Blackburn and I was playing for Everton and we used to smash into one another. It was good fun.
“It’s someone who I’ve come across and known, he’s a good lad from a similar part of the world as I am, an Everton fan and a Stoke City legend.
“He’s going to come in with the best intentions to try to help us in what is a difficult moment.”