Mark Robins is at the start of another building project, or at least joining another building project, as he takes on the manager’s job at Stoke City.
Robins jumped into a huge challenge at his last club, going into Coventry City as they were about to be relegated to League Two amid protests about ownership and facing a couple of seasons playing without a proper home ground.
The tests at Stoke are of a completely different nature and can be found up and down the Championship: trying to find a way to compete against teams with Premier League cash while being constrained by the EFL’s financial fair play rules. It is hard but it is possible, Robins insists.
“You have to try to do that, without doubt,” he said. “You’ve got to recruit well, develop well and try to retain as well as that when you can do to make it stronger each season.
“I always use the word incremental. It’s an incremental change each year and trying to get better incrementally on that basis because most clubs haven’t got the money to say we’re going to try to buy the title – and I don’t think that’s necessarily a good thing to do either.”
Still, it is frustrating to have owners who are desperate but not allowed to invest.
He said: “That’s probably right but also you can do things in a more sustainable way and I’m like that. I’ve never had the other side of it although when you develop and sell players for a significant amount you can reinvest that and propagate that way. Also academy players are really important and at points you have to have that pathway, they have to see the pathway.”
That will be Robins’ approach then as he gets his feet under the table at the bet365 Stadium but he is not taking his focus away from the here and now.
He said: “I know in my mind what I want to do but I don’t want to set targets or levels. We’ve got more or less half a season to go and we can do whatever want to do but we have to start picking up really good performances on a consistent basis which will then evolve into results and winning games. The challenge that you have every season changes because of the teams, you have six new ones coming into the Championship and you have to try to hit the ground running but everyone is in the same boat.
“You have to build in the Championship, you have to build momentum, certainly if you’re not going out and spending.
“Leeds United’s squad is brilliant, it’s brilliant. They can hurt you, they can hurt anyone on the day because of the level of the player. The budget is big and the expectation is there. This is their second season down and they need to go back up. I think they’ve strengthened and they’re a really good team who play really attractive football, really attacking football, managed really well, coached really well.
“You want to be able to compete with those. It’s very difficult to be able to compete with those when they are like they are but you can pick points up, you can beat them. We picked four last season, beat them at home and drew away but this season we lost 3-0. They can hurt you. I think with the other teams in there, each season they are trying to get better and better because they all want to get to the promised land.”
Robins will work with Stoke’s recruitment department and sporting director Jon Walters as Stoke navigate the transfer market.
He said: “I did before at Coventry but then started to not be as involved. Here I’d like a say and to be able to say yes or no but I don’t necessarily need to tread on people’s toes. I’d like to be able to say I want this player and there’s an avenue to do that. There’s nobody here who is saying you must do this or that. That’s not the way anyone works and certainly everyone I have come across here is a team player. I’m happy to be that also and I have been, I’m collaborative. I work in collaboration with people when we need to.
“This is a great challenge, a big challenge but a great challenge and one I’m really looking forward to.”
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