Mark Robins makes ‘daft’ relegation claim, he demands ‘much better’ from Stoke City against Sheffield United

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Stoke City were embarrassed by Leeds United on Monday in a 6-0 drubbing, and Mark Robins has told his players they need to fight for their lives against relegation now.

The result saw Leeds secure promotion (thanks to a little help from Burnley in beating Sheffield United), but it also condemned Stoke City to their biggest defeat since a 7-0 thrashing against Chelsea in 2010.

It was a real low point in a dismal season for the Potters, and a big step backwards for Mark Robins’ men, who had picked up a crucial three points in beating Sheffield Wednesday on Good Friday.

Looking at the state of play in the Championship today, Stoke are very much on the edge of trouble, and they now face a tough test against a Sheffield United side with their own score to settle after missing out on automatic promotion.

• READ MORE: Sheffield United could still beat Leeds to unwanted Championship all-time record, Chris Wilder will be fuming

Mark Robins and Stoke City looking nervously at relegation zone

Speaking to the press ahead of Friday’s all-important clash at the bet365 Stadium, Robins admitted his Stoke side are still very much in the Championship relegation battle, and demanded a completely different performance this time around.

He said: “There’s four points in it now and you’ve got to expect teams to win below you. They’re not just going to give it up. There’s a lot of football to be played and we’ve got to pick more points up.

“If anybody thought it was done, they’re daft.

“We’ve got to get back to it because there’s a game against Sheffield United at home when I expect us to be much, much better, much more competitive. We’ve got to lick our wounds because it was a tough 90 minutes at Leeds.”

The problem is, Stoke have lost their last two meetings with Sheffield United and haven’t beaten the Blades since October 2022. In fact, they’ve only triumphed over United three times in the last ten meetings stretching back to 2006.

• READ MORE: Chris Wilder slams Burnley security as tempers flare at Turf Moor after Sheffield United defeat

Are Stoke City really in trouble in relegation battle?

After the swing of results on Monday, in which all but one of the bottom five picked up a win, Stoke are definitely still within touching distance of the dogfight down there.

50 points might be enough to stay up, but it’ll be a scrape. With Derby County coming up on the final day, Stoke will not want to go into that game needing anything, as we have already seen how impressive the Rams can be with the bit between their teeth.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
17	Stoke CityStoke City	44	12	14	18	45	60	-15	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
23	CardiffCardiff	44	9	16	19	46	69	-23	43
24	PlymouthPlymouth	44	10	13	21	48	85	-37	43

While Stoke aren’t technically in that relegation mini league we’ve seen developing, they’re right to be looking over their shoulders, as are the likes of Preston and Oxford United.

It’s been a thrilling battle for survival, but Stoke will want to be free of it as soon as possible, and you’d have to think even a point against the Blades would be enough to stave off relegation, as long as we don’t see another weekend of big results for teams at the bottom.