Stoke City captain Josh Laurent credits team meeting for upturn in form
- Published
Josh Laurent (right) has made 60 Championship appearances for Stoke since joining from Reading in June 2022
Stoke City captain Josh Laurent says a players' meeting inspired the Potters' recent upturn after the "penny dropped" they were in a relegation scrap.
The Potters slipped into the bottom three in the Championship after a 2-1 defeat at Cardiff on 24 February, their sixth loss in seven league matches.
But two wins in three since have moved them 19th, three points above trouble.
"What happened at Cardiff could have been one of the best things to happen to us," Laurent told BBC Radio Stoke.
"We had a sit-down talk between each other as players, and with the staff as well, everyone together, having a realisation of where we are and what needs to be done.
"Ever since that, you can just feel a difference, in the building every day and going into games. We've seen the positives in the three games since and hopefully that continues."
Potters boss Steven Schumacher this week said he has temporarily abandoned his footballing principles, hoping to steer Stoke to safety with a lower-risk strategy.
"It was a realisation, after Cardiff, that if we continue what we're doing, the probability is we are going to go down, so we have to change something," Laurent, 28, added.
"There were a few things people felt needed to be said and the penny dropped. We were in the bottom three and it was like 'right, if it's going to be said, it's got to be said now'.
"You feel that little bit of added responsibility [as captain] but it's not only me, the other experienced players have also stepped up and said their piece.
"The way we were playing before, it was really enjoyable, I loved it, but at the same time it wasn't the time to be experimental.
"It was about taking the risks away and being a bit more safe, just for the time being, to try to win games and keep us up."