Stoke City v Millwall

the potters
FROM THE HEAD COACH
steven schumacher
Good afternoon and welcome to the bet365 Stadium for today’s
Championship encounter with Millwall – a special occasion for
myself as my first fixture as Stoke City’s Head Coach.
I am hugely grateful for the positive
messages I have received during my
first few days with the Club.
Mark Hughes (Assistant Head Coach),
Peter Cavanagh (First Team Coach),
Darren Behcet (Goalkeeper Coach)
and myself are all immensely proud
to represent your club. Being here is a
massive honour and privilege for us all.
When I met John Coates and Ricky
Martin, and listened to their vision,
plans and passion for the club,
I quickly knew this was an opportunity I
wanted to take.
Clearly our bond with everyone at
Plymouth Argyle was strong given the
success we enjoyed. It was going to
take something special to lure us away,
and I believe we have found that here.
It is evident to me that we inherit a
really talented group with a healthy
balance of experience and promising
young players, who I am excited to
develop out on the training pitch.
I believe we have a squad capable
of climbing the table and there is
no hiding from the fact that we must
quickly find a way to improve results.
Our home form will be so important as,
for me, it is the foundation of success
for any team.
The bet365 Stadium has to be a
formidable place, somewhere that other
teams don’t enjoy visiting.
Supporters should be excited to come
to home games, be entertained and
ready to play their part in helping the
team get a result.
The values that resonate with me for a
Stoke City side are bravery and hard
work to the point of leaving everything
out on the pitch, coupled with a desire
to play attacking football and be a team
our supporters can connect with.
If we do that, I know you will get behind
the team and forgive an indifferent
result or performance here and there.
We will be brave, take risks and make
bold decisions. Clearly we won’t get
every decision right, but when we get
them wrong, we will hold our hands up
and be accountable.
When things don’t go to plan, it
will never be for the lack of trying.
Everything we do will be geared
towards positive outcomes for
Stoke City.
Our first challenge is the visit of
Millwall this afternoon, and I would
like to offer a warm welcome to Joe
Edwards and the players, staff and
supporters who have made the journey
to Stoke-on-Trent today.
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year
to you all.
Enjoy the match.
Steven
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