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Stoke City boss Mark Robins said he does not want to dampen down expectations fans might have this season and believes “anything is possible” heading into a new campaign.
The Potters embark on their ninth attempt to return to the Premier League since they dropped out of it in 2018 and have invested heavily on and off the field in a bid to significantly improve on last term’s 17th place.
Stoke City boss Mark Robins says things around the club “feel different” heading into the new season – and that they remain desperate to end their near-decade absence from the Premier League.
Robins is preparing for his second full season in charge, hoping to return the Potters to the top flight for the first time since relegation in 2018.
In the eight seasons since, Stoke have failed to mount a
When he was appointed in January 2025, Robins became the club’s seventh permanent manager since relegation from the Premier League in 2018.
Unlike many sides to fall out of the top flight, and despite a healthy budget, the Potters have failed to challenge for promotion in any season since the drop, with a highest finish of 14th.
Hopes were high last October when they were second after 14 games, but
Bristol City are poised to appoint former Notts County and Forest Green boss Ian Burchnall as Michael Skubala’s assistant manager.
The Robins are also trying to bring QPR first-team coach Steve Bould to Ashton Gate as Skubala looks to finalise his backroom team.
Boss Skubala joined the Robins last month after leaving Lincoln, having guided the Imps to the League One title as they returned to the second tier
Bristol City are close to appointing Lincoln boss Michael Skubala as their new manager.
The Robins have moved quickly for the 43-year-old after failing to convince Bournemouth assistant Tommy Elphick to join.
Nothing has been signed yet but it is now expected Skubala will move to the Championship side.
It will cost Bristol City over £1m in compensation with Skubala understood to have signed a new contract at Sincil Bank
Here is a prediction for Bristol City’s final league position in 2026-27 season – we will probably finish 12th.
There comes a point when supporting your football club when you stop asking whether the team is good enough to go up or bad enough to go down.
Instead you start asking yourself, ‘what on earth is the point of this?’ You question the financial cost and also why bother if
Bristol City ended their Championship season and Roy Hodgson’s interim spell in charge on a positive note with a 2-0 win over Stoke City.
Delano Burgzorg capitalised on a first-minute error by Stoke keeper Viktor Johansson to give the hosts control, with Scott Twine and Tomi Horvat both going close to a second before the break.
Stoke did improve after half-time but struggled to find a cutting edge despite racking
With Roy Hodgson completing what will surely be his managerial swansong at Bristol City and it being highly likely the club is going to confirm James Ellis, the former Arsenal technical director, as sporting director, fan attention will now switch to who the next head coach will be.
Social media has been awash with suggested names of who will step into Gerhard Struber’s shoes, with some more realistic than others.
Robins, who is in his first full season in charge having taken over in January 2025, said it was important the Potters “take stock, move forward and improve” next season.
He added lessons will be learned from their transfer business after several players were brought in from across Europe and took time to find their feet.
“I said in January, bring players in and they’ve got to get up to
Former Arsenal technical director James Ellis is a serious contender to become Bristol City’s new sporting director.
Ellis has been locked in talks with the Championship side over the past fortnight with a view to taking the leadership position at Ashton Gate.
Discussions are accelerating, with a move to Bristol for Ellis understood to be at an advanced stage.
However, Sheffield Wednesday have also taken an interest in Ellis in