“I do have sympathy for him” – Is Michael O’Neill doing a good job at Stoke City? The verdict

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict’ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Following a 2-1 defeat to AFC Bournemouth on Saturday, Stoke City sit in 15th position in the Championship after a run of four matches without a win.

The Potters are one of a plethora of clubs who are not threatened by relegation but probably have too much to do when it comes to making the play-offs, although with games in hand it’s not beyond the realms of possibility.

The club’s manager, Michael O’Neill, has been at the Bet365 Stadium now for over two years, saving them from the drop in 2019-20 before leading them to a mid-table finish in 14th in 2020-21.

With the Staffordshire outfit now in the same position nearly 12 months later, it appears that no real progress is being made – but how much of that is down to O’Neill? Has he done a good job at Stoke regardless of their league position? The FLW team have had their say…

It does feel as though O’Neill is doing a rather decent job for Stoke.

Considering the fact that when he arrived at the club they were bottom of the Championship table, they seem to have come quite some way from that to now be in the picture for a play-off place in the second-tier regularly under O’Neill.

Indeed, it is worth noting that O’Neill has ensured the Potters have done that while having to cope with injury problems for a number of key players at one point or another, while also producing some impressive cup runs as well.

With that in mind, while Stoke supporters will surely be hopeful of a stronger push for promotion in the months and years to come, it is hard to really feel like it