Stoke City boss Mark Hughes says FA Cup exit ‘might be a blessing’
Written by News on 06/01/2018
Under-fire Stoke manager Mark Hughes said defeat at Coventry could be a blessing in disguise after his side’s FA Cup exit on Saturday.
The beleaguered Stoke boss suffered third-round embarrassment in his 200th game in charge after Jack Grimmer struck to hand the Sky Blues a 2-1 win.
Charlie Adam equalised with a second-half penalty after Jordan Willis had opened the scoring but, despite a late rally, Stoke were dumped out.
It left Hughes clinging to his job after the Stoke board considered his future in the week, with the Potters in the Premier League relegation zone.
He said: “The fact we’ve gone out, even if it’s a little bit raw at the moment, might help us.
“At the moment we don’t want to discuss Premier League games but maybe when we wake up on Monday the reality clearly has to be our league form.
“Has it changed anything (his future) markedly from this afternoon? Is it any different from the situation after the Newcastle game? I don’t think it is. It just highlights we need to do better.
“But in the long term, certainly until the end of the season, it might be a blessing for us.”
It is the first time Stoke have been knocked out, as a top-flight side, by a team from the fourth tier or below since they lost to Bradford Park Avenue in 1938.
Hughes added: “We’re not giving ourselves a platform to manage games, more often than not we’re chasing our tail.
“Once we got back level we were in the ascendancy but still have to keep the back door shut and we didn’t.”
Willis headed in after 24 minutes but conceded a penalty soon after the break when he brought down Ramadan Sobhi and Adam levelled.
Grimmer then hit the winner with 22 minutes left when his low effort flew past Jack Butland.
(c) Sky News 2018: Stoke City boss Mark Hughes says FA Cup exit ‘might be a blessing’
