Danny Batth keen to transform Stoke City’s fortunes in the Championship
Posted on February 23, 2019 in Stoke
Stoke City’s winter signing Danny Batth is determined to transform the club’s fortunes despite an unfruitful start to his career with the Staffordshire outfit. The experienced centre-back joined the Potters from Wolves on a permanent basis in January and he has since directly made the lineup with the surprise of the captain’s armband.
In the opening two games, Batth has witnessed the Potters suffer defeats against Hull City and West Bromwich Albion respectively but he remains upbeat for a change in momentum during the upcoming game at struggling Wigan Athletic, he enthused: “It’s a great stadium and a great fan baseand I’m looking to do well for the club and the fans. They’ve had a tough few years, so if I can be part of the revival, and what the manager is trying to do, fantastic. We have to really build and use the rest of the season in a positive way to try and get the fans behind us and stick to our task.”
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Speaking after the goalless draw, Rowett admitted that the supporters are permitted to chant anything they want during the game but he was not appreciative of the booing policy right from the early stages of the first half, he told BT Sport: “They can chant what they want at me. That’s fair enough. I wouldn’t criticise them for giving me some stick either about the football or the amount of wins we have got. But to boo your own team after 20 minutes is not helpful. If I say it and I get criticism, I am not really bothered. We had control of the game for the first 20 minutes and passed the ball well. Our first backward pass and they boo.”
However, over the past month, that has seen an improvement with goalkeeper Jack Butland particularly impressive between the sticks and Rowett is now concerned about the goals which have dried up of late. Speaking to reporters, Rowett said: “If you look at the season so far, we were creating lots of chances early season, but it was no good scoring two if we are conceding three.
However, since the last international break, his performances have improved vastly and he has made some standout interceptions including one in each of the previous two matches versus Middlesbrough and Nottingham Forest respectively. Speaking in a news conference, Rowett suggested that Butland may have been mentally affected after the Potters drop into the second tier but he is now coming back to his old self after keeping three clean sheets on the bounce.
At the Liberty Stadium, Clucas had a good debut campaign with six goals from 33 appearances but he was nevertheless allowed to leave the club after Stoke made an offer difficult to refuse. Speaking to the club’s official website, Clucas confirmed that Rowett had maintained an interest in signing him since he was at the helm at Pride Park.