Steven Schumacher manager of Plymouth Argyle applauds the fans at full time looks dejected during the Sky Bet Championship match Coventry City vs Plymouth Argyle at Coventry Building Society Arena, Coventry, United Kingdom, 28th November 2023 (Photo by Stan Kasala/News Images)
Steven Schumacher responds to Hull City question as Stoke City face battle for survival
The Tigers host the struggling Potters on Good Friday in front of a sold-out MKM Stadium crowd
Stoke City head coach Steven Schumacher admits Friday’s crunch meeting with Hull City at the MKM Stadium is huge in the Potters’ quest for survival.
The Staffordshire side were beaten 3-0 at home by City’s play-off rivals Norwich before the international break, a result which leaves them teetering on the brink of the drop zone, just two points above after a dreadful season and just eight games left to preserve their Championship status.
City, meanwhile, haven’t played since their enthralling 2-2 draw with then-leaders Leicester and know three points is crucial if they’re to maintain their push for the top six, which has left them three points adrift of the Canaries following that victory at the bet365 Stadium.
“Yes, (we’re determined to find solutions) but we need to know a short-term answer straight away,” he said after the defeat against David Wagner’s men. “There are eight games to go, not long left. Long-term we will deal with it when we get an opportunity but in the immediate reflection of that game we have to address what keeps happening and try to do something about it in the next game
“We’ve done more than that. We now go into another stretch of games, a really good team in Hull and then a couple of teams who are around us. We have to look at that and chunk it like we agreed we were going to do. We can’t get too high from last week’s win away from home and we won’t get too low this week. It’s a game when we just weren’t at it.
“Huge (against Hull City) but it was going to be like that before this game anyway. I wouldn’t be saying anything different if we’d won, I’d still be saying eight big games to go. We have to just keep going, plugging away.”
