Ryan Shawcross insists managing Stoke City is not an impossible job as the club prepares to unveil Narcis Pelach as new head coach.

Pelach was watching from the stands as Stoke, with Shawcross in caretaker charge, beat Fleetwood Town on penalties last night to reach the Carabao Cup last 16.

He will be the sixth manager or head coach since Stoke were relegated from the Premier League in 2018 and no one yet has been able to arrest a succession of bottom half finishes.

But Shawcross said: “It’s a great club and it’s got some really good players. Someone will get it right eventually and we’ll do some special things here. I hope that will be the new manager and we’ll give him our full support with the hope and intention that he’ll do that. All you can do is wait and see what happens. If it’s who is being reported, it’ll be interesting to see what ideas he brings in but ultimately it’s a really good squad with really good players and also the academy is producing some top players. There are lots of positives he’ll come into.”

Pelach saw a young team beat Fleetwood last night and it’s a young squad, not just the starting XI used in the cup. Shawcross believes the changing room is receptive to ideas – but they will need to resolve a ‘soft underbelly’.

He said: “It’s a young dressing room with elements of experience and loads and loads of talent. There is a slight soft underbelly that you can address with time and tactics and training harder. You could look at transitions in this game and in previous games. It’s the Championship, you have understand it and sometimes you have to be dogged. We have got some fantastic players but there are games like Millwall away when you have to be hard to beat. That’s my takeaway from my short time with them. There are some amazing players but you have to understand game management, understand the Championship.”