Steven Schumacher: Stoke City boss says job about correcting small margins
- Published
Steven Schumacher's first game as Stoke City boss is at home to Millwall on Saturday
New Stoke City boss Steven Schumacher saw just three weeks ago the "small margins" involved in turning the Potters from Championship makeweights into potential promotion challengers.
Schumacher's Argyle beat Alex Neil's Potters with a 97th-minute winner at Home Park, a result that led ultimately to him becoming Stoke boss.
But he says Stoke are "talented" enough to start turning narrow losses to wins.
"It's about turning small margins into victories," he told BBC Radio Stoke.
"Games in this league are all about small margins.
"There have also been injury issues. And we highlighted the fact that there has been such a big turnover in players.
"Maybe that's one of the reasons why the club is in this league position. It takes time for players to come in and gel.
"But there's no doubt it, this squad is talented."
Neil and technical director Ricky Martin were the Championship transfer market's biggest players in the summer, bringing in 18 new faces.
Steven Schumacher's penultimate win as Plymouth Argyle manager was also Alex Neil's penultimate defeat as Stoke City boss - at Home Park on 2 December
But Schumacher insists: "There were a lot of good signings.
"Some who made an immediate impact and some who were obviously going to take time. It showed a lot of ambition."
And, although reluctant to leave Argyle, despite having had other offers, and, although he is well aware that he is Stoke's sixth boss in six years, he knew the time was right.
"I might have had a couple of times when my agent called me and said 'what about this and what about that'.
"But when we first spoke last week about Stoke City and the potential to come here, that was something I wanted to listen to and I was ready to have the conversation.
"I met [joint chairman] John Coates and Ricky Martin over the weekend and I shared in their vision of where they'd like to take the club.
"It is a fresh challenge and a chance for myself to progress."
Schumacher's record in league management
Southport (caretaker manager) | 27 Sept-18 Oct 2017 | National League North P1 L1 |
Bury (first team coach, under Ryan Lowe) | 19 Jan 2018-5 June 2019 | League Two P 19 W 4 D7 L 8 |
League One P 46 W 22 D 13 11 L | ||
Plymouth Argyle (assistant manager, under Ryan Lowe) | 5 June 2019-7 Dec 2021 | League Two P 37 W 20 W 8 L 9 |
League One P 66 W 24 D 17 L 25 | ||
Plymouth Argyle manager | 7 Dec 2021-19 Dec 2023 | League One P 72 W 44 D 13 L 15 |
Championship P 22 W 7 D 5 L 10 |
Steven Schumacher was talking to BBC Radio Stoke's Rob Adcock.