Famous Stoke backing is essential to beat leaders

CAN'T wait to take my place in the stands at Stoke this afternoon.

- By Mike Pejic

You can sense that Stoke supporters know how much this team is working, not just on match days but on the training ground, to give them something to shout about.

And when a Stoke crowd has something to shout about they shout about it very loudly.

At the Victoria Ground and at this stadium, they can make an unearthly amount of noise when they know a side is giving its all. It's intimidating for the opposition, as Coventry will hopefully find out. Crank it up, don't disappoint!

This Stoke side under Mark Robins is going great guns at the moment and those first and third goals in midweek in the rain at Oxford spoke volumes. That kind of play takes a whole load of hard work and can't just happen overnight.

Stoke were able to speed forward and leave Oxford players in their wake. That is a sign of good collective play and understanding about what the manager and his coaches want, getting people into the correct positions to complement one another and know what they're doing and why they're doing it.