Bardsley believes Stoke City will recover

Stoke City’s defender Phil Bardsley believes that the team will recover from their poor start to the season.

He said that some players have returned late from the pre-season and that this is what has affected the team. He believes that under the guidance of their manager they should be able to come back strongly and get a more decent ranking.

He believes that Stoke City has a decent squad this season and it will all depend on how consistent they are. He said things had changed a lot at Stoke City from the days under Tony Pulis and that now they are considered as a proper football team.
Bardsley said that in the past, opposition team was expecting a physical battle when they come and play at Stoke City, but he believes that it is the contrary that is happening now. Stoke City has some technical footballers that can keep the ball now and the only way that some teams have found to stop them is to play physically.

For this style of football to work, it is important that every player in the team is fit and he believes that this caused the poor form at the beginning of the campaign. He said that Mark Hughes is not a manager that will tolerate nonsense and that he is making them work hard in training.

Concerning Joe Allen, he said that it is a great thing for the team to have a player of this quality and that he can change the course of a game in a second. He believes that Allen has some good experience of top level football and that his experience will be beneficial for Stoke City during the course of the season.

He believes that Stoke City can finish in the top half of the table and even have a good run in the Cup competition.