- Leicester City visit Stoke City in the Sky Bet Championship on Saturday (3pm kick-off)
- Former Plymouth manager Steven Schumacher recently took charge of the Potters
- Stoke Sentinel journalist Pete Smith has assessed the new head coach’s impact at the club
- Wins are required to move out of potential danger, with improving Stoke’s home form a target
New head coach Steven Schumacher’s influence on the side has been tangible, with the former Plymouth Argyle manager keen to establish a more forward-thinking mentality at bet365 Stadium.
Just over a month on from his appointment, one of his toughest tasks will come this weekend, hosting a Leicester City side sitting top of the Sky Bet Championship and boasting an impressive away record, losing just twice.
“The positivity has been really building up with Schumacher,” Smith said, ahead of Saturday’s 3pm kick-off. "He’s come in as a breath of fresh air. He had galvanised a small club and brought them up to the Championship.
“Schumacher has got his own ideas. He wants to play front foot football and score more goals. You can already see players are making more forward runs with pretty much the same group of players. He’s made quite a bit of difference to the number of chances that they’ve been creating.
“The key point from the last couple of weeks is turning those encouraging signs into results. That’s the big step. At the moment, Stoke are doing really well between both boxes, but where it matters, they’ve really struggled.”
With the January window now closed, the manager knows exactly what he’ll be working with until the end of the season. Forward Niall Ennis joined on a permanent deal from Blackburn Rovers, having previously played under Schumacher at Plymouth, while Vitesse Arnhem winger Million Manhoef also came in on deadline day.
The reporter explained: “He feels there is more to come from the squad he inherited and wasn’t hoping to solve everything in the transfer market. He wants to work on the training ground to get the most out of the squad.
“Stoke have brought in 22 players since the end of last season and he has to find a formula to get more out of what he has got.”
Home form has become the main worry for the Potters, who are currently 19th in the standings. Yet to win on home soil since his appointment, they did pick up a first three points of Schumacher’s tenure away to Rotherham United last month, with solid foundations to build on heading into the final third of the season.
“Stoke lost 3-1 at Sunderland last Saturday,” Smith added. “They made a load of good chances and couldn’t take them. They didn’t give away a lot but the ones that they did give away, they were punished for and Sunderland took them. Stoke’s problems were magnified and he’s got that to solve.
“They’ve struggled to win home games in the last three months and even further back in the past two or three years. With the new manager coming in, his big task is to turn that form around. It’s number one on his list to sort out.
“You don’t get very far in the Championship if your home form isn’t good. You’re always going to be looking over your shoulder otherwise, but they should have enough to clamber up into mid-table and challenge getting into the top half by May.”
All times GMT.