Stoke boss Pelach defends tactical switch

Narcis Pelach's Potters have now picked up just four points out of a possible last 27

Stoke City boss Narcis Pelach defended his latest change in tactics following the Boxing Day home defeat by Leeds United after seeing the Potters extend their winless run to nine matches.

Four points out of a possible 27 is the club's worst winless run in the league since taking only two points from their opening 10 games at the start of the 2019-20 season under Nathan Jones - and they were booed off by significant numbers of the fans still left in the ground at the final whistle.

The plummeting Potters now stand in 19th place in the Championship going into Sunday's home game with Sunderland - just three points outside the relegation zone.

And Pelach, who has won just three of his 18 league games in charge since succeeding the sacked Steven Schumacher in September, has been criticised by fans and the local media for simply making too many changes.

After deciding to operate with a back five to counter Leeds' attacking threat, Pelach told BBC Radio Stoke: "We chose the formation we thought would work best.

"It's a difficult game and we prepared the team to try to be resilient. A lot of teams who went with a back four against them were out of the game very early.

"They make you defend a lot. They have a lot of ball possession. And then if you press them high and you go late, they beat the press and then they have an open goal. But then, if you sit, it looks like you're not trying, and it's difficult.

"We tried in the first seven or eight minutes, and we were more there. We created a big chance with Lewis Koumas, which could have changed the night.

"This is what we need. In those little moments, you need to be punishing in order to beat Leeds. That's why not many teams come close to beating Leeds.

"It dropped off because of the quality Leeds have. You have ideas and try to implement them, but at the end of the day when the ball is there and there's a player in front of you that waits until you move and then finds a free player, it makes you drop."