Stoke City: Jon Walters can redeem Narcis Pelach error with Mark Robins coup | OneFootball

The Potters need to relieve Pelach of his duties and approach Robins to become their new boss

Stoke City are in the midst of one of their worst winless runs in recent memory, and sporting director Jon Walters needs to act fast to relieve head-coach Narcis Pelach of his duties in order to try and tempt ex-Coventry City boss Mark Robins into the bet365 Stadium dugout.

The Potters made the decision to sack Steven Schumacher back in mid-September, to the shock of many Stoke fans and neutrals alike, with Pelach installed as the new head-coach just days later in a huge gamble by sporting director and club legend Walters.

Pelach's only previous experience as a permanent manager had been in the Spanish lower leagues, with Figueres and Peralada, and while he was a successful coach with Huddersfield Town and Norwich City, that success has not yet translated into being a head-coach at an expectant Championship club.

The Spaniard has undoubtedly been dealt a tough hand in ST4, given the context of his appointment and squad he has to work with, yet his results have simply not been good enough, and now seems like the right time to let him leave and bring in an older, more experienced coach that can galvanise a group of players.

Robins, therefore, would be the perfect fit, as he has obvious experience of second-tier management from his time at Coventry, and was able to take the Sky Blues from lowly League Two football to a Championship play-off final.

The 55-year-old has reportedly insisted that he wants a break after leaving Coventry, yet Stoke's finances and potential as a club could be able to tempt him to an early return to the dugout, as well as it's ideal Midlands-based location.

Stoke City need to sack Narcis Pelach ASAP

Steven Schumacher's football and results at Stoke were not perfect, by any means, yet he had been given a full summer transfer window to shape his squad, and seemed to have the complete backing of the Potters' board as this season began back in August.

It came as a huge shock, then, when he was sacked back in September following a 1-0 defeat to Oxford United, and even more so that rookie head-coach Pelach was chosen as his replacement just days later.

Sporting director Walters insisted that there was "no doubt" in his mind that the Spaniard would enjoy success as Potters boss, but just three months later, and his time should be over after a run that could have seen Stoke fall into the relegation zone, if not for goalkeeper Viktor Johansson's fine performances week-in, week-out.

Pelach's reign got off to a bad start, with back-to-back two-goal defeats to Hull City and Middlesbrough, but a thumping 6-1 victory over Portsmouth at the start of October saw Stoke supporters begin to believe that he could be the man to take the club forward.

Three successive draws followed, then defeats to Sheffield United and Southampton in the EFL Cup, before the Potters enjoyed back-to-back league victories for the first time this term, with 2-1 and 2-0 wins over Derby County and Blackburn Rovers respectively.

That early November win at Ewood Park is the last time that Stoke took three points from a game, with four draws and four losses each in the eight games since, with the Potters' xG conceded sinking to the second-worst in the Championship, only better than Plymouth Argyle, who are currently bottom of the table.

Pelach can point to being unfortunate with refereeing decisions against the likes of Millwall, QPR and Sheffield Wednesday, yet the bottom line is that Stoke have been second-best in almost every game that he has been in charge of so far, and there does not seem to be a set style of play that he wants his players to follow each week.

With that said, and with a tough run of games against Leeds United, Sunderland and Burnley on the horizon, as well as a key January transfer window, Stoke must move to relieve him of his duties as soon as possible, as his position has become untenable, and supporters have begun to turn on him, Walters and club owner John Coates.

TEAMtalk's Fraser Fletcher has recently reported that the pressure is on Pelach, and the general consensus is that it is a big week ahead for his status as boss, but Stoke don't even need to even give him the Leeds game, and should make their decision as soon as possible.

Stoke should look to appoint Mark Robins as their next head-coach

It goes without saying that Mark Robins is set to be near the top of nearly every Championship club that sacks their manager in the coming months, yet Stoke must feel that they would be in a strong position to approach him to take over, if Pelach was to leave soon.

Robins is an expert operator at second-tier level, and while his time at Coventry ended on surprisingly bad terms, he was the Sky Blues' saviour over the last seven years, as he took them from League Two to the second-tier in just four years, then to a Championship play-off final and an FA Cup semi-final.

He was shockingly let go by the Sky Blues last month, with the club in 17th place after an admittedly poor start to the season, and he has already been touted as becoming the new boss of numerous second-tier sides, including Millwall, after Neil Harris left his post earlier this month.

With that in mind, the South London Press' Richard Cawley reported last week that Robins had turned down the chance to talk to the Lions about their head-coach vacancy, as he wants a break from management after his Coventry exit.

The Coventry Telegraph have since claimed that both ambition and location are likely to be key factors in Robins’ next move, and Stoke could tick the boxes for both of those points, particularly the latter.

The Potters are Midlands-based, similar to the Sky Blues, and do have a lot of ambition to get back to their Premier League heights of ten years ago, but need a manager or head-coach like Robins that matches those aspirations.

Stoke would be able to offer Robins a sizeable contract too, likely bigger than what he was on at Coventry and certainly more than what Millwall may have appraoched him with in the last week.