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Walters previously said he saw the next 12 months as a time for continued improvement rather than setting defined targets.
But, heading into the new campaign, he is adamant over how the team should shape its identity, with possession and energy key factors.
“If you look at our identity on the football pitch I am not a person that wants a goalkeeper to stand on the ball for 20 seconds
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
Stoke City’s Bae Jun-ho and Viktor Johansson have joined their international sides as they begin preparations for the World Cup this summer.
Midfielder Bae has earned 13 caps for South Korea since his senior debut in 2024, while Johansson has 12 under his belt for Sweden after his first appearance in 2023.
Here is a reminder of the groups the Stoke players are in and who they will face, so
Tchamadeu, 22, joined Stoke from Colchester United in the summer of 2023 and, after an injury-hit 2025-26 campaign, he has agreed a new deal until June 2028.
The Cameroon full-back has made 87 appearances for the Potters in total but a knee injury in January limited him to only six games since the turn of the year.
“His campaign was affected by injury on international duty, and a brief setback
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
Stoke City goalkeeper Viktor Johansson has signed a new four-year deal with the Championship club.
The 27-year-old, who has won 12 caps for Sweden, has been recovering from shoulder surgery since January but is now back in full training and could return in Saturday’s final game of the campaign at Bristol City.
Prior to his injury, Johansson had clocked up 70 consecutive league appearances for the Potters and kept eight
Portsmouth travelled to Stoke knowing they were already assured of safety, but the win was enough to lift them up to 18th and to within a place and a point of Stoke.
Goalkeeper Josef Bursik was brought in as one of five Portsmouth changes for the trip to Staffordshire, but he lasted only four minutes before going off injured to be replaced by Killip.
Segecic opened the scoring in the
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
Stoke were without defenders Ben Wilmot, Junior Tchamadeu, Makysym Talovierov and Ashley Phillips for the trip to north Wales.
And their defensive frailties were fully exposed in a 69-second spell as Wrexham combined a mix of direct play with some neat build-up throughout to cause the Potters’ makeshift backline plenty of problems.
Goalkeeper Bazunu did not cover himself in glory for Wrexham’s opener, and the same applied to captain Cresswell
Stoke City manager Mark Robins claims “people don’t want to hear” about the club’s progress because their Championship promotion push has faded.
The Potters, who only avoided relegation on the final day of last season, have won just three of their past 16 league matches.
Robins, who took over in January last year, insists his side have improved.
He told BBC Radio Stoke: “You know why we are where we