After the Potters’ weekend 2-1 home victory over Sunderland, Stoke City defender Luke McNally believed that his team had the ability to fight against the rest of the Championship.
With three points, Alex Neils’ team moved five points clear of the bottom-dwelling group. The last-second comeback by Leeds United against Norwich City propelled them to third place after their last three games had ended in victories. On Wednesday night, the two sides square off against one another.
Leeds last defeated Stoke at their own stadium in August 2019 with a convincing 3-0 victory for Marcelo Bielsa’s team.
With three points, Alex Neils’ team moved five points clear of the bottom-dwelling group. The last-second comeback by Leeds United against Norwich City propelled them to third place after their last three games had ended in victories. On Wednesday night, the two sides square off against one another.
Leeds last defeated Stoke at their own stadium in August 2019 with a convincing 3-0 victory for Marcelo Bielsa’s team.
up order to defeat the Peacocks at the Bet365 Stadium, McNally has encouraged his team to put up the same kind of effort and tenacity.
The 24-year-old said in an interview with StokeCityFC.com that “we really had to dig in at the end, but I thought we played quite well in the first half and then to get 3 points feels like a bit of a relief, but we need to build on it now and back it up in the next game.”
“We just saw it through and everyone worked so hard for us to get a lead in the second half. When you put in that kind of effort, I believe you have a chance in any game.
“You caught glimpses of quality, but I think we showed what a fighting team we can be, and we just need to demonstrate that consistently now,” said the squad member.
The Burnley loanee commented on the challenging encounter on Wednesday night: “Going into the next game off the back of a win it is easier to build momentum than with a loss but we need to use that in our power now.”
“We’re obviously going up against one of the stronger teams next, but I think we demonstrated in every game that we can compete more than adequately, and we need to do that again on Wednesday,” said the coach.
McNally paid £2 million to join Burnley in 2022, but he will spend the entire season on loan at Stoke City in an effort to assist the Potters recover from a disastrous start to the season.
Author’s Opinion
The Stoke team might not be good enough to win promotion back to the Premier League. But when they’re in top form, they can make life difficult for any Championship club.
Although Leeds United has been playing very well lately, it would be a success to leave Stoke-On-Trent with three points.
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