'Hungry' Robins plans top-flight return for Stoke

Mark Robins returns to Championship action eight weeks after being sacked by Coventry City

New Stoke City manager Mark Robins said he plans on taking the club back to the Premier League after a six-and-a-half-year absence.

In his first press conference as the Potters boss, Robins outlined his ambitions with the club currently sitting four points above the Championship relegation places.

"I really would like to manage in the Premier League before I retire. I turned 55 at Christmas, so, I'm really hungry." Robins told BBC Radio Stoke ahead of his first official match in charge against Plymouth Argyle on Saturday.

"When this opportunity came up, once I met [club owner] John Coates and [sporting director] Jon Walters, it just confirmed what I thought and what my feelings were.

"They are die-hard Stoke City supporters, and the Stoke supporters - I'm really looking forward to working for them. I think it's a really good fit for me."

Robins returns to a Championship dugout after being sacked by Coventry City in November following a seven-year spell in Warwickshire, which brought two promotions, an EFL Trophy victory, an FA Cup semi-final, and a Championship play-off final.

"I have a list in my head, and its not a very long list, about clubs and owners that I'd like to work for and with.

"Stoke City's one of them - John Coates and the Coates family are renowned in football and I'm really looking forward to working with them and for them."

Mark Robins was in the dugout at the Bet365 Stadium as Coventry boss on the opening day of the season, where his side lost 1-0 to Stoke City.

Robins 'all in' with Potters

Following on from his previous successes, Robins confirmed he would not try and replicate the blueprint he brought forward during his time as Coventry boss.

"Each club's unique," he said. "What you can't do is [say], 'I did this there,' and, 'I'm going to repeat that there,' because they're two totally different cities, different clubs, different environments, different stages of development - it is in that sense totally different."

He added: "I'm really confident that, given time, we can turn this around and move this forward. That's my skillset and that's why I'm at Stoke City.

"Having lost my job on 7 November, I needed that period of time to get it out of my system because I was all in at Coventry and now I'm all in somewhere else.

"I'm all in and I really want to get my teeth into this - I really want to move this forward."

Whilst looking forward to the future, Robins also noted the importance of understanding the identity and culture of a club which still has fond memories of a decade's worth of Premier League football between 2008 and 2018.

"This is a club that has aspirations to go into the Premier League. Ultimately, we have to understand the club and move it forward. That's what I'm tasked with.

"We need everyone aligned. This club's motto is 'United strength is stronger' - never has that been truer."