JUST IN; ‘It might sound crazy’ – Stoke City captain Josh Laurent opens up on changing room call-to-arms. Stoke City captain Josh Laurent has returned from an ankle injury to help the team’s bid to stay in the Championship.
Captain Josh Laurent has revealed the call-to-arms team meeting as Stoke City slipped into the Championship relegation zone that he hopes will be a springboard for the club’s long-term future.
Stoke’s form over the winter saw them stutter towards the wrong end of the division before finally being sucked into the bottom three following a 2-1 defeat at Cardiff on February 24. They have responded with two wins which sandwiched an encouraging performance at Leeds, hauling themselves up to 19th and three points above the dotted line. There are still nine games remaining to decide the club’s fate but Stoke head into them in a completely different mood, with shoulders back and a new sense of unity.
Laurent said: “It might sound crazy and I don’t want to eat my own words but what happened at Cardiff could have been one of the best things that could have happened to us. We had a lot of sit-down talking between each other as players and staff as well and a realization of where we are and what we need to do. Ever since that, I can feel the difference – me, personally – in the building every day and going into games. I can feel a difference in the group and it’s been good. We’ve seen the positives in the three games since so hopefully it continues and I don’t have to eat my words“ There were probably a few things that people had been thinking about or thought needed to be said. Then after Cardiff, the penny drops that we’re in the bottom three and if it’s going to be said, it’s got to be said now. The biggest thing was after that. We’d had a few post-match talks like that when everyone talks but that was the last one, ‘Right, the talking stops now, it has to be action. Everyone get what they need to get off their chest to help and then we go to action..
“I can feel a difference in the air. I hope it continues for many, many years to come.
“It’s like a real fight with everyone saying, ‘We don’t want to go down, we’re going to fight until we’re safe.’ It helps that the fans have been right behind us too. It’s nice to come into work. Everyone has put any personal problem aside and come together and be united.
Steven Schumacher, who arrived in mid-December with a reputation for attacking football and a task of breathing new life into goal-shy Stoke, has taken risk out of his tactics over the last couple of weeks.
Laurent, who is now preparing for a home game against Norwich this weekend, said: “It’s never been a problem of players not trying or not having good intentions on the pitch, it was more of a realization of where we’re at and that if we continue to do what we’re doing we’re probably going to go down so we had to change something. The way we were playing football before under the gaffer was really enjoyable, I loved it, but at the same time it probably wasn’t the time to be as experimental, it was about taking a bit risk away, being a bit safe, being in games and trying to win games to keep us up.
That game against Preston wasn’t pretty and it’s not something we’ll look to do every match – and I’m sure the gaffer won’t want to play like that for months to come – but at the moment the priority isn’t about style or how we play, it’s just about getting three points. That was the realisation. It doesn’t matter how it looks, it’s about getting the job done on the day.
“We talked to ourselves, said to simplify everything, take fewer risks, get the ball forward, be more positive, be more positive when we talk to each other as well. We will come together. I’m sure the gaffer won’t want to play like this forever but he does it because he wants the three points and he knows what it means. We’ve all come together and it’s positive now because there’s nothing better than winning games, no matter how you win them.
