Stoke City fan pundit delivers verdict on whether Michael O’Neill can take the Potters back to the Premier League

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

Stoke City boss Michael O’Neill has a clear plan and the capability of taking his side back to the Premier League following a four-year absence, according to FLW’s pundit for the Potters Ben Rowley.

The Staffordshire had endured three seasons of midtable mediocrity coming into this campaign with a summer of spending in 2018 failing to work out and the club failing to mount any sort of promotion push up until this term.

Enduring a productive summer last year, offloading high earners and recruiting shrewdly, they have spent much of 2021/22 in and around the top six with a clearly-defined system in place and many players finally performing up to expectations at the bet365 Stadium.

They have fallen away from the play-offs more recently with the Potters currently in 13th position heading into this weekend’s round of second-tier fixtures.

However, they are only six points adrift of sixth-place side Middlesbrough as things stand and are still in contention to be in the promotion mix at the end of the season, potentially giving themselves a real opportunity with the signings of the likes of Phil Jagielka and Lewis Baker during the winter window.

One man that will be particularly crucial to their hopes of success though is manager O’Neill – and FLW’s Stoke pundit Rowley believes he has the necessary skillset to succeed.

Asked whether he believes he can take the Potters forward, he said: “I think so. He’s a calm yet a commanding figure which is an unusual blend for a Stoke manager to have I feel, particularly in