CITY MUST RETAIN FOCUS

Potters boss Robins impressed with start to season but wants his squad to keep on building

- Peter Smith

AWAY DATE: Mark Robins takes his side to Blackburn today before the international break.

MARK Robins insists no-one at Stoke City will get carried away as they try to cap a strong start to the season today.

Stoke head to Blackburn for an early kickoff (12.30pm) sitting third in the Championship table with 14 points from their opening eight games. It is the final fixture before another international break and Robins has been pleased with the performance levels he's seen so far, as well as the results.

It has been a positive turnaround so far not only from last year but also for the manager, who had a reputation as being something of a slow starter who got better as campaigns went on while in this division with Coventry.

Asked if he had approached this term differently than he had before, Robins said: “It’s difficult to define but I’ve got an idea of why things have moved forward quicker.