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Pelach wants to give Johansson a helping hand

Stoke City head coach Narcis Pelach says the way they defend is the reason they are facing so many shots this season, but would also like to reduce the workload on goalkeeper Viktor Johansson.

Only Plymouth Argyle (17.6) average more shots conceded than Stoke (15.8) in the Championship but Pelach has revealed it is partly down to the way they approach games.

"We defend the space rather than the man and when you do that you allow the opposition to have possession in front of you but theoretically it doesn't hurry you because you always have 11 men behind the ball," the Potters head coach told BBC Radio Stoke

"I prefer this because if you press all the time and go man for man they get more one v ones against your goalkeeper.