Stoke City: Mark Robins tipped to be given "massive warchest" as part of 3-year prediction | OneFootball

Robins hasn't quite had the impact at Stoke as fans would have hoped, but he has been urged to stick around for the long haul

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Once a very steady Premier League outfit for the best part of 10 years, Stoke City currently find themselves locked in a never-ending battle with the bottom half of the Championship.

The Potters have found over the last five years that it's very difficult to escape the second tier of English football no matter how much cash you throw at it like they did in 2018-19, and many managers have felt the wrath of what appears to be a poisoned chalice that is the bet365 Stadium dugout.

Gary Rowett, Nathan Jones, Michael O'Neill, Alex Neil, Steven Schumacher and Narcis Pelach have all come and gone from the Staffordshire outfit in the previous six-and-a-half years, and now it's the turn of Mark Robins to try and arrest Stoke from the continual dismal seasons in English football's second tier.

Mark Robins tipped to be at Stoke City for the long-term

Robins was in his last job at Coventry City for seven-and-a-half years, so to jump into the Stoke job with two feet, with a hierarchy that has made several quick-fire changes in recent times, will no doubt see the ex-Man United striker on edge a bit in regards to his own security.

He did great things for the Sky Blues, but Robins has not been able to make an immediate positive impact in his first few months at Stoke, with just two wins from his first 10 league matches managed, and the Potters are very much in the relegation battle as things stand.

FLW's Stoke fan pundit Daniel Buxton though believes that Robins will stick around at the club for the long-term, even if the worst happens and City drop into the third tier, citing the fact that owner John Coates is known for backing his managers with cash when the opportunity arises.

"I hope to see Mark Robins there in three years time," Daniel told FLW.

"With how we chop and change managers, it would be a minor miracle if he is - it must mean we've been doing right in the meantime.

"I do think the manager is here for the long run - I think he is the right manager for us. I'd be disappointed if he is not given a decent amount of time.

"I think he's a manager who likes a project, who likes to develop things over time and things don't come so suddenly when you're at a football club and you do maybe have to lay the foundations and then build upwards, rather than getting all your ingredients at once and throwing them all together.

"So, I do think he understands that and probably sees that the ownership we've got, if he can get it right and get us into a position where we can challenge or even get promoted, he's got a chairman who will back him with every penny financially that will allow him to.

"And it's a good club to be at if you're a person who can break the terrible run we've been on in the last few years, because whoever does do it is going to be given the keys to the city basically, and the keys to a massive warchest."

Stoke City perhaps would have expected more of Mark Robins since his arrival

Given the impact he had at Coventry over the last few years - apart from the run of results that led to his exit from the club in 2024 - Robins would have expected to come in for Narcis Pelach at Stoke and make an immediate impact.

For whatever reason though, it hasn't happened - could the fact that he is no longer paired up with Adi Viveash, his long-serving assistant at Coventry - be a factor?

A fall-out between the pair led to Viveash's exit from the CBS Arena in the summer of 2024, and things just weren't the same after the pair went their separate ways - Robins created a new coaching staff but they didn't gel, and it led to his exit in November.

In time, Robins may get the best out of his Stoke squad, and it may very well require somewhat of a rebuild over the summer, but it's clear that he's not had the quick impact that was hoped by everyone - it may end up leading to an unexpected conclusion to 2024-25 where City do not beat the drop.