Stoke & Staffordshire

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  1. Brown liquid and a drain are pictured. In the background is a black fence.

  2. A construction site with newly built houses situated behind some scaffolding.

  3. Lynn Ecclestone with her husband George on Valentine's Day when the couple were able to go out for lunch.

  4. A swan, with white feathers and an orange beak, sits on grass in front of a flowerbed with yellow and purple pansies in Stratford-upon-Avon.

  5. Mr Vango, ridden by Jack Tudor

  6. A close-up of the side of a police car - it is decorated with the traditional yellow and blue with "POLICE" written in large blue letters.

  7. 'Rubbish' goal settled game 'short on quality' - Robins

    Mark RobinsGetty Images

    Stoke boss Mark Robins was a frustrated man after seeing his side beaten by a "rubbish" stoppage-time goal at Millwall.

    Mihailo Ivanovic's penalty, after Ben Wilmot was adjudged to have fouled Josh Coburn, gave the Lions the points after the game looked set to end in stalemate.

    "It was a game short on quality all the way through apart from when we got on the ball," Robins told BBC Radio Stoke.

    "First half, we played some reasonable football - they're spoilers, they set their stall out to do what they did, but we can't become embroiled in that, which happened in the second half.

    "We ended up stopping playing our game, making mistakes, although we created some brilliant openings for Burger and then Junho hit the bar, then other times we picked the wrong option.

    "What the referee has seen (for the penalty), I have no clue - their player put his arm inside Ben Wilmot's arm, then rolled, and I don't know what Ben's supposed to do because he can't get away from him, so then they go down together and he's bought the penalty. It's absolutely ridiculous.

    "It's happened twice now - the game at Coventry where we conceded a rubbish goal and another rubbish goal at the end of this game."

    Stoke will be at home to Queens Park Rangers in their first game after the international break, on 29 March.

  8. Horses compete in last year's Midlands Grand National in front of a crowd of 9,600 spectators.

  9. The front of a high street pub. It is a two-storey building with four windows and a door. A light hangs above the door underneath a white sign that says "Jovial Foresters Inn".

  10. Three women smiling as they stand outside a building. The woman in the middle has her arms around the other two.

  11. Warwick Castle Dining Club event during a previous tour. People are sitting at tables set up on a grassy space outside with food and drink. There are strings of lights in the background and the canopy of a stall.

  12. Sharon Yates has long red, brown hair just past her shoulders and wears black-rimmed glasses. She has a black top over a white and black striped top. Behind her are metal shelves, painted blue, to hold ceramics. Further back are rows of white mugs.

  13. 'Capable' Stoke must back up Blackburn win - Robins

    Close up of Stoke City manager Mark Robins in his black club tracktop looking out into the daylight from the dugoutPA Media

    Mark Robins has won three and lost five of his 12 league games since becoming Stoke City boss at the start of the year

    Stoke City boss Mark Robins said his battling squad is "capable of doing a lot more" as they try to build on this week's important win over Blackburn Rovers when they face Millwall in the lunchtime kick-off on Saturday.

    The Potters' 1-0 win on Wednesday was their first in five games and kept them four points clear of the Championship's relegation zone.

    Speaking ahead of their trip to south-east London, Robins thinks Stoke's lowly position does not tell the whole story of what they have been through this term.

    "I think we're capable of doing a lot more. I think the league position is something where we shouldn't necessarily be," he told BBC Radio Stoke.

    "Injuries really impact a squad and it's felt like a perfect storm, and all of the things that could go wrong, go wrong. But you have to make the best of the hand you're dealt."

    The Potters have been without a host of key players at various points this season because of injury and have had particular issues at left-back.

    Although Edna Stevens will not face the Lions because of a slight knock, Eric Bocat is set to return.

    "We need to keep everyone on the training ground, but it's a balancing act over how far we can push them because you need to push them beyond [their limit] to get any growth."

    With nine games to go, Robins knows every point will be vital and has confidence in his players to stay clear of trouble.

    "I think we're good enough and they're really capable players. I see good things, and some not so good things, but you can rectify things and put them right," he said.

    "The big thing is we have to back performances up - so can we go and do that? Can we go and get these three points that we really want and really need?"

  14. A woman with glasses, short read hair, a black and white scarf and dark top, stands outside a hospital building.

  15. Charlie Hammond salutes riding Val Dancer after winning the Coral Welsh Grand National at Chepstow.

  17. A football in a goal net

  20. An overhead image of a road junction with a small vehicle, the quad bike, visible in the centre. The junction is surrounded by green land with some trees.

  21. A side of a building with a mural painted on it. The mural shows blue sky and a bridge over a railway line with trains on the tracks. Buildings and walls have been painted alongside the tracks.

  22. Darren Moore waving some instructions to his players from the touchline dressed in puffer coat and beanie

  23. Pick of the stats: Millwall v Stoke City

    Millwall and Stoke City club badges

    Millwall are looking for just a third win in eight league games as they welcome Stoke City to The Den on Saturday (12:30 GMT).

    Stoke's midweek victory over Blackburn Rovers means they are four points of the relegation zone.

    • Millwall have lost only one of their past 12 league meetings with Stoke (W6 D5), a 2-0 away defeat in the 2021-22 season.

    • Stoke have not won on any of their past six league visits to Millwall (D2 L4) since a 1-0 victory in August 2005 under then manager Johan Boskamp.

    • Millwall have picked up just five points in their six league games at The Den under Alex Neil (W1 D2 L3), scoring five goals in that time from 65 shots (7.7% conversion rate).

    • Stoke City have lost their past three away league matches, last losing four in a row between January and March 2024 under Steven Schumacher.

    • This is Millwall manager Alex Neil's first league meeting with former club Stoke since he left in December 2023. Neil has won four of his past five Championship games against the Potters (L1).

  24. A bald man with glasses and a moustache smiles while wearing red robes and a mayoral chain. He is in front of a white wall.