Stoke boss Mark Hughes confident he will be given time to recover his side's horrid form: 'I've been doing this for a long time, so I know how it works'

  • Stoke have lost two consecutive games and sit just above the relegation zone
  • But manager Mark Hughes believes his chairman Peter Coates will give him time
  • Coates has voiced his concerns this week over the side's last two performances 
  • The Potters face an away fixture against Watford in the Premier League next  

Mark Hughes is confident Stoke chairman Peter Coates will give him the time needed to lift the club away from relegation danger.

Stoke are only above the drop zone on goal difference having lost 7-2 to Manchester City and 2-1 to Bournemouth in consecutive weeks and supporters are getting restless.

Coates voiced his concern this week about the most recent displays and said Saturday's trip to Watford, followed by games against Leicester, Brighton, and Crystal Palace should glean points.

Mark Hughes is confident he will be given time to recover Stoke's awful run of form 

Mark Hughes is confident he will be given time to recover Stoke's awful run of form 

Season at a glance

  • Premier League
  • Premier League
  • Championship
  • League One
  • League Two
  • Scottish Premiership
  • Scottish Div 1
  • Scottish Div 2
  • Scottish Div 3
  • Ligue 1
  • Serie A
  • La Liga
  • Bundesliga

But the 79-year-old is renowned for patience, having last dismissed a manager for poor results midway through a season in 1998, when Chris Kamara was sacked. 


Hughes is aware though that pressure mounts quickly in the modern Premier League, with Frank de Boer, Craig Shakespeare, and Ronald Koeman all gone already. 

'You can't really affect that, you can only affect it by winning football matches,' said Hughes. 

'I've been doing this for a long time, so I know how it works. I would be more concerned if I didn't think we had a group to have a good finish to the season.

'At the moment we are just above positions no-one wants to be in, but I'm not anticipating that lasting.

'It's not about pressure from the outside. It's what we put on ourselves and we have high standards here and expect to perform well every game. 

The Potters lost their last Premier League fixture against Bournemouth and now sit 17th 

The Potters lost their last Premier League fixture against Bournemouth and now sit 17th 

Hughes thinks chairman Peter Coates will give him space to turn around the side's results 

Hughes thinks chairman Peter Coates will give him space to turn around the side's results 

He added: 'We won't always be able to do that because we are not a top-four, top-six side, but that's our intention.

'I think the chairman will want improvements on the last two showings. He isn't different to anybody else in the regard.

'He knows quality of the players he has and knows the quality of staff he has and, in my time here, he's always let me get on with my job and put things in place and get things right. And that's what will happen here.' 

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