'Stoke spell was the worst nine months of my footballing career...

GARY Rowett admits he can do nothing but take it on the chin after being taunted by Stoke City fans as he lost 3-0 to his old club.

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Rowett has had an extraordinary record against the Potters since his brief time as manager came to an end in early 2019. In 10 meetings he had only lost once before Mark Robins — the sixth boss to try to fix Stoke since Rowett — took his team to Oxford on Tuesday night.

Oxford had a couple of moments but Stoke were excellent on the counterattack and ran away 3-0 winners with two goals from Lewis Baker and a neat finish from Steven Nzonzi.

The 1,500-odd Stoke supporters in sellout away end enjoyed their night as a third straight victory — and fourth in five games — lifted them to second in the Championship and there were a couple of songs aimed at the home dug out.