Neil Addresses the Media Before Bristol City Match
As he always does, Stoke City manager Alex Neil addressed the media in his Friday before the match press conference.
Among the things Neil discussed were the importance of Saturday’s match, how Bristol City play, how close The Potters are to being a complete Neil team, and where some of the team’s injuries stand before Saturday’s match:
What Alex Neil Had To Say Before the Team’s Bristol City Match
To open up Friday’s press conference, Alex Neil talked about if there is an extra importance around this match against Bristol City because of the two teams positions on the table:
"“I think every game is important. I don’t think it matters where they (Bristol City) are in the league in comparison to ourselves for this game. Every game we need to try to add more points to our tally…It’s more just getting points on the board for us. But what it does do obviously is if we take points off of them they stay where they are and we can hopefully move farther forward. But every game is vital for us”"
As for Bristol City themselves, Stoke City will have to make sure they play well early in the match. Here is what Neil had to say about The Robins style and type of play Potters fans can expect on Saturday:
"“They (Bristol City) open the pitch up. They make it (the pitch) big. They’ll use the ball well. Defensively we’ll have to make sure we’re sound, but equally we carry a threat.”"
Another question Neil faced, was his thoughts on when we might see a complete Alex Neil team, given the club’s injuries since he took over:
"“I think every team is going to have injuries. I think consistency is the key thing for us. Because I think there’s been games where we performed very well. I think Sheffield United were excellent pressing…Norwich away we were really strong. We have shown moments of quality. We have shown good performances, shall we say. But we just have to make sure we try to do it on a consistent basis.”"
In the present as far as injuries go, Stoke City could once again be without some key players once again versus Bristol City — As he normally is with any injury question, Neil again was cheeky when asked about the club’s injuries heading into Saturday:
"“We’re touch and go.”"
*Keep it here on “All Stoked Up” for continued coverage of Stoke City’s match with Bristol City.*