Stoke City could be relegated if Mark Robins does not address this worrying trend | OneFootball

The Potters have conceded added time goals in two of their last three games

Stoke City currently hover precariously above the Championship relegation zone with 10 games of the season to go, and Mark Robins needs to take steps to stop a worrying trend that has recently emerged and seen them drop vital points in their efforts to survive the drop.

The Potters' turbulent campaign shows no signs of slowing down as the vital second-tier run-in quickly approaches. Most of Robins' men have a chance to rest and recuperate over the next few days amid the first international break of 2025, but their full focus will return to club football next week as they prepare to host QPR on March 29.

Stoke have certainly not helped themselves this season, and supporters will be able to pinpoint moments in which they have been the architects of their own downfall in key moments over recent months.

Robins has no doubt steadied the ship since his January arrival, but his players have continued to struggle to pick up points, and they now sit just one point and two places above the bottom three.

Their performances have improved in the last few games, but their recent knack of conceding game-determining goals in added time has been startling, and needs to come to an end as soon as possible if they want to remain in the Championship for next year.

Stoke have made a habit of conceding late goals in key recent games

Stoke had not let in a single goal in added-time throughout the whole season prior to their visit to an in-form Coventry City side earlier this month, but just two weeks later and it has happened twice, against both the Sky Blues and Millwall in the space of three games, and could very easily have been the case against Blackburn Rovers too.

The Potters were surprisingly competitive on Robins' return to the CBS Arena, yet some shoddy defending saw them go into the break two goals down.

Sam Gallagher then thought he had rescued a point in the second-half after his brace took Stoke into the 96th minute at 2-2, but Bobby Thomas' great finish in the dying seconds saw the hosts take all three points in their bid to finish in the top-six. The Potters' stellar added-time record was over.

It was a gutting end to what had promised to end up as a positive day for the club with a potential point taken from Lampard's side, but the Potters put it behind them days later with a crucial victory over Blackburn on home turf, as Ali Al-Hamadi netted his maiden bet365 Stadium goal to seal a 1-0 win.

That Rovers encounter was not without jeopardy, however, and the visitors thought they had snatched a draw in the 93rd minute as Joe Rankin-Costello flicked Hayden Carter's cross towards goal, but was only denied by a last-ditch save from the outstanding Viktor Johansson, who has saved Stoke on more occasions than many will believe this season.

Stoke were pretty lucky to get away with conceding another goal in the final minutes of a vital game, but that luck ran out last time out against Millwall as they headed into added-time with the game goalless at The Den.

Robins' side had battled hard for what looked to be a deserved point in south-east London, but Ben Wilmot was adjudged to have pulled down Josh Coburn in the penalty area in the 92nd minute, which saw referee Andy Davies point to the spot in controversial fashion.

Mihailo Ivanovic dispatched his spot-kick to give the Lions the win, and Stoke left the capital empty-handed despite being level for so much of the game. Boss Robins bemoaned his team's "really poor decisions" in his post-match interview with Sky Sports, and blasted the Potters players for how they had "thrown two points away in two games" in the span of a week.

Mark Robins is confident that he can change the Potters' mentality

Stoke's worrying recent trend needs to stop at Milllwall if they are to stay in the Championship this season. They were literal seconds away from an important point against old boss Alex Neil, yet a slight lapse of concentration was the difference between a draw and a loss.

Those fine margins could well end up being the difference between survival and relegation when it comes to the end of the campaign in six weeks. Looking back on the 2023/24 second-tier season, Plymouth Argyle stayed up by just one point ahead of Birmingham City, so it is clear just how important every point can be when it comes to the final league table.

Stoke have won just one of their previous six league outings, so their upcoming run of games against the likes of QPR, Preston North End, Luton Town and Cardiff City are all vital and must-wins if they want to stay up.

The Potters will fancy their chances of picking up points against those teams, despite their poor current form, and boss Robins is convinced that he has what it takes to shift his players' losing mentality and guide them to survival this season.

“I think we’re capable of doing a lot more. The league position isn’t somewhere we should be, but injuries impact and everyone needs to understand that injuries impact a squad," he told StokeonTrentLive earlier this week.

"I’ve called it a perfect storm before now and it felt that way, that everything was conspiring against us and all the things can go wrong, go wrong.

"You have to make the best of the hand you’re dealt but you need everyone pulling together and understand what it takes to keep people on the ground, keep people on the training ground, keep people pushing.

“I think they’re good enough, they’re really capable players – you can see it – it’s just how I feel and what I see. I’m seeing some good things and some not so good things but things that can be rectified and you can put things right."

Robins' first port of call needs to be addressing his players' poor levels of performance in the dying embers of games in recent weeks. His side played well for the majority of each of the games against Coventry, Blackburn and Millwall, yet they only have three points to show from those outings.

Stoke must string a run of wins together in their upcoming matches to survive another Championship campaign, but they will end up succumbing to relegation if they continue to concede late on in the final 10 games of the season.