'Michael O'Neill Has Done A Fantastic Job At Stoke'

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'Michael O'Neill Has Done A Fantastic Job At Stoke'

Matt Sandoz of BBC Radio Stoke provides an analysis of Stoke City's season to date and how they are likely to shape up against the Foxes.

2021-01-09T08:55:00.000Z

by Sam Jones

Published

09 Jan, 2021

'Michael O'Neill Has Done A Fantastic Job At Stoke'

Matt Sandoz of BBC Radio Stoke provides an analysis of Stoke City's season to date and how they are likely to shape up against the Foxes.

Sam Jones

2021-01-09T08:55:00.000Z

'Michael O'Neill Has Done A Fantastic Job At Stoke'

Matt Sandoz of BBC Radio Stoke provides an analysis of Stoke City's season to date and how they are likely to shape up against the Foxes.

Sam Jones

2021-01-09T08:55:00.000Z

'Michael O'Neill Has Done A Fantastic Job At Stoke'

Matt Sandoz of BBC Radio Stoke provides an analysis of Stoke City's season to date and how they are likely to shape up against the Foxes.

Sam Jones

2021-01-09T08:55:00.000Z

'Michael O'Neill Has Done A Fantastic Job At Stoke'

Matt Sandoz of BBC Radio Stoke provides an analysis of Stoke City's season to date and how they are likely to shape up against the Foxes.

Sam Jones

2021-01-09T08:55:00.000Z

- Stoke City are set to do battle with Leicester City on Saturday afternoon for a place in the fourth round of the Emirates FA Cup _- The two sides are both entering the competition at this stage, with the Potters currently well placed in the Championship standings__- BBC Radio Stoke's Matt Sandoz spoke to LCFC TV earlier this week to preview the cup fixture in depth_- He also gave his thoughts of a tenure of manager Michael O'Neill, who has spent just over a year in charge of the Staffordshire club

Stoke have bounced back well from a difficult 2019/20 to finish the first half of the Sky Bet Championship season in eighth position, two points outside the top six.

All eyes have now turned to Saturday's Emirates FA Cup third round clash with Leicester City, which could be the Potters' springboard to gatecrashing the Championship Play-Offs.

Ahead of the cup clash, a 3pm GMT kick-off at Stoke's bet365 Stadium, Sandoz told LCFC TV that O'Neill is expected to name a strong side in order to maximise the Potters' chances of progressing in the next round, at the expense of Premier League opposition.

He explained: "I think for Michael O'Neill it's all about momentum and keeping that momentum going, so he'll certainly be taking it very seriously. There's no danger that he will be thinking of taking his foot off the gas and giving fringe players an opportunity.

"Of course there will be some players who need some game time, there will be players that Michael O'Neill wants to have a look at to see how he could use them in the second half of the season, for what he hopes will be a promotion push and a chase for the play-off places.

"He's going to want to win the game and if he can beat a Premier League club in the FA Cup, not only does that build confidence around the football club and within the players as well, it also builds a lot of confidence in terms of momentum and where that victory could perhaps take them.

"Anything they can do at this stage, particularly coming into this really important second part of the season where they can win matches, he will go for it."

Out of the 12 clubs in the top half of the Championship table, only Watford and Bristol City have scored fewer goals than Stoke so far this season, as the lengthy absence of top goalscorer Tyrese Campbell remains a potential blow to their aim of staying in touch with the top six.

Sandoz believes it may also hamper the prospect of an FA Cup upset, although the signing of Schalke midfielder Rabbi Matondo provided a good start to the January transfer window for the club.

"In terms of scoring goals, they have been a little goal-shy having lost Tyres Campbell to that long-term injury for the remainder of the season," he continued. "They've tried a number of options up front: Sam Vokes, a Welsh international, has not really hit the mark yet.

"They've tried Steven Fletcher, who had a great start to the season and the partnership between Fletcher and Campbell was really starting to bear some fruit until Campbell got injured, and then more recently Fletcher has also got an injury.

"He could be out for quite a number of weeks, so in terms of striking options, it's really very threadbare for Michael O'Neill, which is why he's moved in the transfer window to bring in Rabbi Matondo from Schalke, who is only 20 years of age.

"He's not really considered a striker, he's more of a quick winger who is going to create opportunities, perhaps that is where the likes of Vokes might have more luck, if we've got out and out wingers who can be providing more service to a striker such as Vokes. In terms of what he does to score goals, it's a question that Stoke fans are asking as well."

Also discussed by Sandoz was the influence of former Northern Ireland manager, O'Neill, who took charge of the club during a difficult period, following the departure of Nathan Jones. Despite never managing in England before, he has surpassed all expectations from the Stoke City supporters.

"He's worked magic, he's worked wonders," the BBC Radio Stoke journalist said of O'Neill. "Nobody would have expected him to have done exactly what he has done.

"He came in just over a year ago now, in November 2019, when the club was on its knees and staring relegation in the face. For fans, it just seemed like there was no way out of it, that was going to be their fate, they were going to be playing League 1 football the following season.

"But Michael O'Neill very quickly turned things around, although it wasn't perfect at first, he was getting results and towards the end of the season he was getting some consistency as well and you could see that the team was playing for him.

"He started this season in better form to see the team on the fringes of the play-off places. If you look at the points that Michael O'Neill has picked up since he came in and certainly the calendar year, it's up there with some of the best teams throughout England, comparable to some of the Premier League teams, like Liverpool.

"His points haul is remarkable, so he's done a fantastic job."

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