Stoke City manager Steven Schumacher has called for everyone at the club to stick together for their final 12 games as relegation looms, following a disappointing defeat to Cardiff City yesterday afternoon.

The Potters found themselves 2-0 down with just a half-hour gone at the Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday, with goals from Kion Etete and Karlan Grant giving the Bluebirds an early advantage. Nevertheless, Schumacher’s side did fight back as Joon-Ho Bae scored his first goal for the club, tapping in a rebound from a Lewis Baker free kick, but it wasn’t enough to leave the Welsh capital with a point.

The defeat condemned Stoke City to the relegation zone, a place that looked a fair distance away following the five-game unbeaten run that Schumacher began his tenure with. However, since then, it has been six defeats in seven and the team have slid down the Championship table.

Schumacher now has merely three wins in his 13 games in charge. He was brought in to revive Stoke from their continuous mediocracy in the Championship but now faces being the man to take the club down to the third tier for the first time since 1992.

Speaking after the game, the 39-year-old called for togetherness from his squad ahead of a relegation dogfight: [quotes via Stoke-On-Trent Live]:

“It doesn’t really change anything. We understand where we’re at. We knew that there are six, seven, eight teams all in the mix and those that can put results together, back-to-back results, will be the ones who get away from it. We need to find a way to do that.

“These players will fight for us. I can’t question the players’ efforts since I’ve been here. I think everyone can see that they’re trying, that they’re giving everything that they’ve got and it’s just in certain areas that they’re coming up short. There’s still 12 games to go, that’s still a long time, a quarter of a season to go and it’s not over until it’s over.

 “All we’d ask is that we all need to stick together because we’re going to need that for the next 12 games.

Stoke City are struggling, there is no doubt about it and League One football next season is becoming an increasing possibility for the club who were in the Premier League as recently as 2018. With results poor, the fixtures are not getting any easier as Middlesborough, Leeds United and Preston North End are their next three games.

If Schumacher can rescue the Potters, it would be quite the feat as sides such as Queens Park Rangers and Sheffield Wednesday are showing more signs of a late survival push than his team at the moment. 45 points was enough to stay up last campaign in the Championship meaning Stoke need at least three wins and a draw to reach that milestone, and currently, it’s hard to see where those are coming from.