Mark Robins: New Stoke City boss targets Premier League football

Following on from his previous successes, Robins confirmed he would not try and replicate the blueprint he brought forward during his time as Coventry boss.

“Each club’s unique,” he said. “What you can’t do is [say], ‘I did this there,’ and, ‘I’m going to repeat that there,’ because they’re two totally different cities, different clubs, different environments, different stages of development – it is in that sense totally different.”

He added: “I’m really confident that, given time, we can turn this around and move this forward. That’s my skillset and that’s why I’m at Stoke City.

“Having lost my job on 7 November, I needed that period of time to get it out of my system because I was all in at Coventry and now I’m all in somewhere else.

“I’m all in and I really want to get my teeth into this – I really want to move this forward.”

Whilst looking forward to the future, Robins also noted the importance of understanding the identity and culture of a club which still has fond memories of a decade’s worth of Premier League football between 2008 and 2018.

“This is a club that has aspirations to go into the Premier League. Ultimately, we have to understand the club and move it forward. That’s what I’m tasked with.

“We need everyone aligned. This club’s motto is ‘United strength is stronger’ – never has that been truer.”