Dealing with 'hand grenades' at Stoke tough

BBC News

09-05-2025

Mark Robins has said that his first few months as Stoke City manager have been "really difficult" because of having to deal with "so many hand grenades" from the situation he inherited following the departure of Narcis Pelach.Robins, 55, replaced the Spaniard, who was sacked after just three months in the job, at the start of the year to become the Potters' third manager of the season - and fourth permanent boss in 13 months.And after a prolonged struggle to escape the fringes of the Championship relegation picture, Stoke finally secured their status in the division with a final-day draw with Derby County.That result saw the Potters finish just two points above the bottom three and left Robins reflecting on his four months at the helm."That was a really difficult period," he told BBC Radio Stoke."When I came in on 1 January to now, I don't think I've experienced so many hand grenades thrown in and dealing with them."
Stoke is Robins' seventh management role at a sixth different club after his two spells with Coventry City, who he left for the second time in October after more than seven years.He has faced rebuilding Rotherham after a 17-point deduction over the club's exit from administration in 2007-08, relegation battles with Scunthorpe and Huddersfield Town and an eviction notice from their home ground by the stadium owners during his second spell with the Sky Blues."I've had some horrific experiences in management but this has been really challenging to say the least," Robins said."All of it - you're coming into a new club, you're meeting new players and personalities, you're getting to know them, trying to stamp your ideas on things and how you want to move things forward."But this is a really good football club with brilliant ownership."We've got to deal with bits and pieces over the summer."
'I didn't come here for a relegation battle'
Key to that will be changing a pattern of perennial underachievement for a club that has failed to muster a serious promotion bid since being relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2017-18 season.In fact, this past campaign has seen Stoke finish in their lowest league position (18th) with their worst points return (51) in the seven seasons since."We're desperate to make this a success," Robins said."The things we're putting in place will take time to come to fruition. We want to build something special. I didn't come here for a relegation battle. "Whether it's me taking them back into the Premier League or someone else, because we've done the work, then I'm not bothered. It's not about me."It's going to be a summer of hard work. It's a really good time to make some decisions and we have to get those decisions right."