The pair have endured difficult seasons but could still salvage something meaningful in the final weeks of a tough year
There’s probably nothing worse for any football club than suffering the ignominy of relegation, and fans and players of Stoke City will have felt despondent after failing to beat the drop at the end of last year’s Premier League campaign.
However, even though there were sales (Xherdan Shaqiri departed for Liverpool, for example), the Potters kept a number of their influential figures, while adding a few big hitters, Oghenekaro Etebo included.
The club’s owners moved to secure the services of Gary Rowett after Paul Lambert’s resignation at the backend of a failed campaign as they moved to regain promotion at the first attempt.