Martin Canning: Stoke’s win gave under-the-weather boss Alex Neil a lift

Posted Sunday, December 18, 2022 by PA

Martin Canning stood in for under-the-weather Stoke boss Alex Neil and spoke of his pride at the visitors’ efforts in their 2-1 come-from-behind victory at Bristol City.

Jacob Brown scored a second-half winner after Liam Delap had cancelled out Nahki Wells’ opener.

Neil was struggling as he watched from the dugout and missed his post-match press conference, and assistant manager Canning said: “Alex has been under the weather for most of the week, although he has been in doing his job.

“The win will give him a lift and hopefully he will be okay by the time we are back in on Tuesday.

“Our record when falling behind hasn’t been good, so it was important to show the character and resilience that we did here.

“The Championship is so closely contested, with little between the teams, so there are times when you have to recover from conceding the first goal.

“Scoring just before the break was a boost but didn’t alter the half-time team-talk much, as we felt we were unlucky to have gone behind.

“We fought hard to stay in the game, working hard, which is something we had talked about.

“There wasn’t a lot in it in either half, but we stuck in there and this time came away with the points.

“Phil Jagielka gives us a calm head on the pitch when we come under pressure. The fact he is still playing at 40 speaks volumes for his professionalism.

“Not only does he do a great job himself, but he organises those around him.”

Bristol City hit a post through Andreas Weimann’s 31st-minute volley, but ultimately paid for a lack of quality in both boxes.

Both Stoke goals resulted from poor defending and it was an all-too familiar story for boss Nigel Pearson.

He said: “The way the game went was indicative of our season. Again, we gave away two really poor goals.

“All credit to Stoke for the way they matched us. They did a good job as the away side, but it is another missed opportunity.

“The teams cancelled each other out in the early part of the game and we had to fight hard to get on top.

“But then we concede a bad goal through poor decision-making and go in level instead of in front.

“The second half in general was pretty scrappy and in the end we’ve lost because of our own mistakes.

“There is no point in ranting and raving, but it has been the same story too often this season. We keep giving away points from winning positions and it’s something we have to improve on.”

Pearson admitted he could do with an experienced defender like Jagielka, and added: “I worked with Phil when he was an England Under-21 and would love a player of his ilk now.

“He has had a fabulous career and has been lucky to stay fit for so long.”