Alex Neil sends strong Stoke City message as frustration builds ahead of Bristol City test

Latest Stoke City news from StokeonTrentLive as Alex Neil previews clash with Bristol City in the Championship

Alex Neil says he remains determined to succeed at the bet365 Stadium but understands the frustration of Stoke City supporters following a difficult start to the Championship season.

Stoke only have two wins and five defeats to their name after eight league game, and were also dumped out of the Carabao Cup after a 2-0 third round defeat at Premier League Bournemouth on Wednesday. They only have one point to their name on the road so far.

But ahead of an Ashton Gate clash with Bristol City on Saturday (3pm), Neil insisted his team had still put in good performances, even if admitting they had been let down by lapses of concentration and errors.

He said: “Games have been very, very tight. It’s been a case of can we take a chance, make sure we don’t make any silly errors, and they’ve been really tight affairs. The Hull game (a 3-1 home defeat last weekend) we didn’t perform well, but I thought the game before that we performed well and we weren’t far away.

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“[We need] more of an emphasis, effort and focus on being determined on making sure the next game we try and get the result. And then I think from there, it takes a little bit of pressure from the next game, and then from that on, can we go and get the next result and the next result after that.”

Neil admits he’s not too concerned about Stoke’s currentlform, having experienced similar situations before and come out on the other end. “First and foremost, I’m just determined to make sure we get the next result,” Neil continued.

“I think football as we’ve seen numerous times this year, things change on one result all the time. It’s quite bizarre how momentum can shift. I thought we started a few games this season relatively well, put a good few performances in and I think the Hull game was probably where we didn’t perform well, which I thought was more deflating than anything else.

“I’ve been in these situations before, I remember Preston, in my first year we finished seventh. Then the following year, I tried to evolve the style a little bit because we were quite direct in the first year and I wanted to take them to the top-six. We were going to have to move the ball a bit better and probably take more ownership of the ball. I think we done well in the first 10 games, and then there was a turning point. and it was Aston Villa, we drew 3-3.

“We were on a run, and if memory serves me right we lost two in 15, so I’ve been in these situations before and I understand what it looks like. I understand the sentiment of people. What I can’t get for myself is I can’t get bogged down by what other people think. I just got to focus on the job at hand and that’s exactly what I’ve done and that will remain.”