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Mark Robins needs three years at Stoke City but this is what he would like now Stoke City legend Mike Pejic previews the new season and what the Potters need to bring in before transfer deadline day Mark Robins might be desperate to usher in success at Stoke City this season, and hopefully he will, but managers probably need about three years at a club to really put a stamp on things. Three years to scrub the deck and look shipshape. There was a lot of work to do when he arrived and, as you’re trying to get everything in place, you’re not going to always get everything right. Not all signings work out, for example, so you have to fix a couple of problems you create yourself, which is frustrating but understandable as long as you get more decisions right than wrong and don’t repeat mistakes. If you look back at his first starting XI as Stoke manager in January 2025, there are only three players who are likely to start today. There are only three others from a 20-man squad who will be in his squad this season. That is a mass turnaround. What I hope we see over the next few months is that there is a spine of a good team in place to help take us forward. We’ve got Viktor Johansson in goal, Luke Graham and Bosun Lawal at centre-back, Svante Ingelsson and Ethan Galbraith in central midfield and hopefully a fit Sam Gallagher up front. You can slot Sorba Thomas onto the left wing and perhaps Eric Bocat at left-back. I like the look of midfield and I'm glad that has been addressed. FOLLOW OUR FACEBOOK PAGE! Latest Stoke City news, analysis and more via the Sentinel There are still quite a few question marks beyond that. He doesn’t seem sure about Million Manhoef, having had him in and out of the team last winter and then either on the wing or in the middle. The expectation levels have to be higher than he’s producing. Will he keep Bae Junho? Ben Wilmot has gone from being captain to being moved from centre-back to right-back. Maksym Talovierov and Ben Gibson could go. Ben Pearson will go if anyone will take him and then we’d need another midfielder. Lamine Cisse has got to prove himself. Milan Smit doesn’t seem to be fancied and has now left on loan. There seems like there is a vacancy in the middle where he could play Djibril Soumare as a number six behind the two midfielders, use it for Junho in an attacking role, ask Tomas Rigo to link between midfield and the front line or have Robert Bozenik pushing up. I like Rigo. It’s what they do in training to get him a little more disciplined in his play but he’ll work and he’s got a bit of pace about him which makes him a natural player breaking forward. He’s excellent in a counter-attacking side. At times you could sit two midfielders in there and use him as a free one. In some games you might ask all three to sit. We need another wide player to really stretch the opposition and make the central area work. Someone similar to Thomas, who is a genuine threat, would be ideal. The central midfield won’t work unless you get the wide roles right and the wide roles won’t work unless you get it right in the middle. I will be happy if Junho stays. He’s a natural worker, setting the standard in that regard, and he’s got no little skill. Robins is wide and he’s got the experience. He knows how to handle different situations and, if there was any surprise he spoke emphatically about injuries last season, perhaps that helped make sure there was big investment and recruitment in the medical department during the summer. He can be cute with what he says sometimes and I smile when I try to read between the lines, or sometimes he’s not quite so subtle. He is on course to oversee his 900th game as a manager this season and who else would you want in that job? You wouldn’t want a naïve starter. You’ve got to support the guy. Of course we should be challenging to get into the top eight but there are probably about 22 clubs in this division who are thinking the same at this stage of the year. But there is no reason why it can’t and it shouldn’t be Stoke. Let’s throw everything at it, fight for every point and make sure that opposition teams know they are in for a hell of a game when they come up against Stoke. How should Stoke line up vs Swansea? Click HERE to join the debate