Mark Robins bemoans ‘difference in quality’ after Stoke City 0-2 Sheffield United

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Mark Robins and Stoke City remain short of safety after their 2-0 loss to Sheffield United on Friday night.

Robins admitted his Stoke side are still very much in the Championship relegation battle recently after Leeds’ 6-0 win on Monday condemned Stoke to their biggest defeat since a 7-0 thrashing against Chelsea in 2010.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
11	SwanseaSwansea	44	17	9	18	48	52	-4	60
12	WatfordWatford	44	16	8	20	51	58	-7	56
13	Sheffield WednesdaySheffield Wednesday	44	15	11	18	58	67	-9	56
14	NorwichNorwich	44	13	14	17	67	66	1	53
15	QPRQPR	44	13	14	17	52	58	-6	53
16	PortsmouthPortsmouth	44	14	10	20	56	69	-13	52
17	Stoke CityStoke City	45	12	14	19	45	62	-17	50
18	PrestonPreston	44	10	19	15	45	55	-10	49
19	Oxford UnitedOxford United	44	12	13	19	44	62	-18	49
20	Hull CityHull City	44	12	12	20	43	52	-9	48
21	DerbyDerby	44	12	10	22	47	56	-9	46
22	LutonLuton	44	12	10	22	41	64	-23	46

It was a real low point in a dismal season for the Potters, and a big step backwards for Mark Robins’ men ahead of Friday’s game. They now know that final day against Derby County could be required to achieve safety.

• READ MORE: Stoke City fans are all furious with Tyrese Campbell following ‘classless’ Sheffield United incident

Mark Robins’ reaction to Stoke City 0-2 Sheffield United

Sam Parkin had predicted a Stoke win but Wilder’s side claimed victory, with the Sheffield United boss talking up the ‘culture’ at the club post-match.

Wilder and Robins may be friends, but the Stoke boss explained the differences between the sides that settled the game in the end. Speaking via Sky Sports, he said: “Look, you can only ask for 100 percent. If they give you 100 percent, you can’t ask for any more. And they gave me 100 percent.

“It is what it is. There’s some times in the game where you lack a bit of quality and you don’t have that little extra quality that teams like Sheffield United have got. That’s why they’ve finished third in the division.

“I thought we played some really good stuff. I thought we broke lines really well, both with the passing and the running. Sometimes we didn’t get the right ball of quality into the penalty area. 

“When we did, we didn’t take the shot or finish — they threw bodies in front. But there are chances that we had that we should’ve taken.

“If you don’t do that, then you run the risk. They play a game — and they’ve done it all season — where they wait for you and wait for your mistakes. They did that a little bit. 

“They were trying to play in behind us in the first half. In the second half, they were trying to play up to Kieffer [Moore] as well and play from him.

“Then they turn the ball over and get their second goal because we end up with four against three and we’re trying to get back into shape and that’s the difference in quality.

“We had opportunities like that and didn’t take them. That’s reflected in the scoreline at the end.”

• READ MORE: Chris Wilder intends to end Sheffield United’s play-off curse this year, and he’s using Newcastle United as inspiration

Opta’s relegation prediction for Stoke City

The Blades weren’t particularly dominant but were solid, as reflected in our player ratings against Stoke. Pleasingly so for Wilder, given the ‘feisty’ nature of the game Chris Basham explained in the Sky studio.

While Stoke aren’t technically in that relegation mini league we’ve seen developing, they will still be worried that they will not be a part of the 2025/26 Championship season.

Of course, they could be safe before that titanic-looking encounter with Derby next week anyway. Should results go their way today, Stoke will be safe.

Opta give them a 0.56% chance of relegation, which could be 0% or significantly higher based on what happens this afternoon. It would be unfortunate to say the least if 50 points relegated them this term.