Steven Schumacher holds staff and Stoke City player meetings as Ricky Martin replaced by Jon Walters
News from Clayton Wood as Stoke City prepare for a trip to Cardiff at the end of an important week for the club
Steven Schumacher held meetings with staff and players on Friday to address the departure of Ricky Martin, urging everyone at the club to stride forward with positivity.
Stoke City top brass made the big call this week to end Martin’s 15-month tenure as technical director, during which time he has been a key figure behind the many major decisions in every department on the football side of the business. The move comes at a time when Stoke are fighting for their lives in the Championship, with 13 games to go to save their status. They head to Cardiff on Saturday (3pm kick-off) hoping for vital points in a 10-team battle at the bottom.
Schumacher was asked if and how the exit of an influential character – albeit outside the match-day changing room – will impact first team matters and admitted: “It’s the first time I’ve experienced it, so the honest answer is I don’t know yet. I think it’s important for us to try to stay focused on our jobs and what’s at hand. Ricky was a big part of what was going on here with Stoke and it’s not nice for anyone to lose their job, but the decision was made and we have to try to keep moving forward as best we can.
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