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Stoke City’s excellent start to the season continued with another win over the weekend.
Mark Robins‘ side beat Birmingham City to move them up to second in the Championship table with four wins from five games.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 13 |
| 2 |  Stoke CityStoke City | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 12 |
| 3 |  Bristol CityBristol City | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 4 | 8 | 11 |
| 4 |  LeicesterLeicester | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 10 |
It’s seven years since the Potters were last in the top flight, but things are starting to take shape and although it’s early days, the ‘P’ word has been mentioned.
They look good value for their start to the 2025/26 campaign, and Aaron McLean thinks that’s down to one factor.
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Aaron McLean thinks Mark Robins is Stoke’s key to promotion
Since appointing Robins as the new Stoke boss, things have taken a turn for the better.
After having the second half of last season to get his feet under the table, the former Coventry City manager was active in the market and brought in some real talents.
David Moyes-endorsed Divin Mubamba has impressed, as a number of others have and McLean thinks that the Stoke manager is the key ingredient to success.
He wrote on BBC Sport: “I think in Mark Robins they’ve got a manager who can go that next step.
“He has the record of being able to go in and get a promotion.
“The job he did at Coventry was incredible, and I really think he’s the man to take Stoke to the next step.
“It’s so early in the season, I don’t think you can get too carried away. But I think for the first time in a long time they can really have a good go at it.”
Stoke finally have stability to fund promotion push
Time is needed to implement your game plan, however, not many managers are afforded that luxury.
Since relegation seven years ago, there have been seven different permanent managers and the Potters have not finished higher than 14th.
Under Robins, they have a manager who is well-versed in taking underperforming teams and getting them into positions where they are regularly challenging at the job.
Now that the wheels are in motion, there is finally a sense of positivity at the Bet 365 Stadium.