THE WAY I SEE IT

WE have seen different kinds of managers with different kinds of backgrounds come into the big job at Stoke City over the last few years.

- By Mike Pejic

Mark Robins has enjoyed an excellent first year as manager of Stoke City.

For various reasons, our club has got the better of them even if they have had success at other places, often with less backing or resources.The trick is for players, supporters, owner, manager and other staff to all be on the same hymn sheet and you have to build relationships on many fronts. When you talk to the radio or the newspaper you're delivering a message and tone to different audiences.

You have to be leader, psychologist and cheerleader and getting the balance right is different at Stoke than it would have been for Nathan Jones at Luton or Gary Rowett dealing with Premier League egos.

But it has felt like a good fit since Mark Robins arrived in January with a long CV showing plenty of experience, plenty of success, challenges and plenty of fight.

He has needed to hit it off with Jon Walters and John Coates otherwise you've got no chance. You can't keep fighting. He's had to be clear about his ambitions, expectations and the real world when he's spoken to the fan base. It's a constant juggling act but he's been ready for it.