Mark Robins blasts Stoke City fringe men as he opens door for exits

Mark Robins has given a blast to Stoke City’s fringe men after seeing a tight game at Southampton swung by the sides’ respective changes.

Southampton threw on Divin Mubama and £9m summer signing Lewis Dobbin for the final stages as legs tired in the south coast heat – while Robins turned to Robert Bozenik, Tomas Rigo and Maksym Talovierov, as well as Svante Ingelsson.

But Stoke, who had given as good as they’d got for at least an hour with the scores tied at 1-1, were pushed further onto the back foot and their old loan striker Mubama got the crucial next goal in the 89th minute. Ryan Manning made sure with a penalty after Ingelsson had been shown a second yellow for a foul on Sam Edozie, who Stoke are adamant was offside.

Robins knew that he would have to make changes as players, particularly new signings, get up to speed physically but he was not impressed with the attitude of those asked to keep up the tempo.

FOLLOW OUR FACEBOOK PAGE! Latest Stoke City news, analysis and more via the Sentinel

He said: "We (lost momentum). We lost energy in areas where I thought we had been really good before the changes. Second half they started to have more of the ball as energy started to dissipate. We know that we're in a position where they will get fitter and stronger - you just want it now, need it now.

“Those players who have come in are just a little bit down on their minutes, George (Hirst) certainly. I thought Ben (Johnson) was brilliant both at right and left. Had we had a little bit more in terms of physicality I think we would have got something out of that game."

He said: “I know the owner has been absolutely fantastic and he will do as much as he possibly can do. We’ve got to try to shift players who don’t want to be here or won’t cut it for us.”

Your verdict? Click HERE to join the debate

Get the best Stoke City news and analysis straight to your Inbox courtesy of The Sentinel!

To get it, it's a quick and easy one-two: