Alex Neil hails ‘really pleasing’ performance as Stoke thrash Coventry

Posted Sunday, April 02, 2023 by PA

Manager Alex Neil was thrilled after Stoke thumped play-off chasing Coventry 4-0 at the CBS Arena.

Tyrese Campbell and Ki-Jana Hoever both scored and created a goal apiece while Jacob Brown and on-loan Southampton midfielder Will Smallbone were also on the scoresheet.

Neil said: “Really pleasing. It was a different challenge for us in the fact we played against a back three.

“We haven’t really done that since we changed our shape so it was always going to be a more open game.

“It was going to be a case of who damages who most and I thought the game should probably have been done by half-time. We had four or five really good chances where I thought we should have put the game to bed.

“The game was then quite even for about 25 minutes at the start of the second half and I thought that who was going to score the next goal was really going to decide the game.

“We got it and I thought it was game over. If they got it, it was going to be game on.

“The balance of the team is really good at the minute. If you look at the bench it was very strong, the first time I can remember in recent weeks where I’ve turned around and got real strength in depth.

“We’re trying to gain the supporters’ trust and make them aware of what I’m trying to do and I think they can start to see everything coming to fruition.

“It’s getting better and better as we go forward and all it does is give them confidence in them, that obviously we’re going to get it right and we’re going to be good.”

Top scorer Campbell set up the first with a wicked cross which was tapped in at the back post by Brown before doubling Stoke’s lead shortly before half-time.

Neil added: “You enjoy your football when you work hard and you get opportunities but it all stems from hard work.

“If you don’t work hard enough you don’t get into positions to be effective and at the moment the way the team is playing, it allows him [Campbell] to exploit his strength.”

Coventry boss Mark Robins branded the afternoon a reality check after their nine-match unbeaten run in the Championship was brought to an abrupt end on a day in which they missed the opportunity to cut the gap to the top six.

He said: “It was a tough day, a reality check because that’s the level you’ve got to get to.

“We are closer to that level, there’s no doubt, but we were miles away from it and that’s a surprise. But it’s there for everybody to see, there’s a gulf between us and them.

“It’s a wake-up call and there’s no doubt about it, it’s a wake-up call to know we were miles away from them.

“We’ve got to try and bridge that gap and to bridge that gap you’ve got to have all your quality on the pitch.

“It’s evident they’ve got themselves going, they’ve got a way of playing and if there was a lot of games left they’d be up there.

“It was as bad as it’s been all season but you’re playing against a really good team. We said there’s a team coming that’ll come after you, they’re going to put you under pressure and they’ve got quality.

“They had better legs, better quality, they made it tell, we backed away, gave them too much room, didn’t have any quality, couldn’t get anything going.

“The consequence of that was the distance between the back lines and the front lines was far too big and we didn’t solve that problem.

“We got outfought, outworked and they had more quality. When you put those together it was a long afternoon.”