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Your support makes all the difference.Paul Lambert believes he can lead Stoke back to the Premier League next season but only if the club undergoes a complete overhaul.
The Scot had never been relegated as a manager before being brought in to save the struggling Potters from the drop in January, but a 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace ended that record with a week to spare this season.
After the game a visibly drained Lambert stopped just short of blaming previous manager Mark Hughes for the club’s predicament but admitted the team needs wholesale changes.
“I'm not blaming anybody,” he said. “I just came in with 15 games to go and when you come into football clubs you see things you want to try and change and things you want to try and keep.
“I wish in a way the club hadn't changed manager. It's a great club and when you've been in the position that it's in, with the stadium, the training ground and the fanbase it's got behind it there's everything there [return quickly].
"What happened during the start of the season; you do sleepwalk into things and if you're not careful you can definitely take your eye off the ball and it can happen.”
The 48-year-old, who was animated on the touchline having pleaded in mid-week with fans to deliver a big atmosphere in their do-or-die game with the Eagles - which they did - has struggled to hold down a job since leaving Aston Villa in 2015.
He lasted just six months at Blackburn and then Wolves but is keen to stay at Stoke beyond the end of the season, having penned a two-and-a-half-year deal, to try and guide them back at the first time of asking
“I’d love to [be here next season,” he added. “I think it's a brilliant club. You can relate to the supporters because it's a really hard-working city. I’m from an area like that myself so I know what it's like but the club needs rebuilding without a shadow of a doubt.
“Players will probably go, guys will come in but I think that's normal. We have to get a more balanced football team.”
Established sides like Norwich, Aston Villa, Hull and Sunderland have all struggled to bounce back at the first attempt, with the Black Cats suffering successive relegations, and Lambert knows how difficult it will be for the Potters next season.
He said: “I know what it's like. I know the amount of games there. I know everything about it. The thing is this club has got an incredibly strong infrastructure, it’s got a great ownership without a shadow of a doubt and they'll bounce back.
“There are clubs going into League One so I know exactly what it's like. It’s difficult, it's gruelling. There are 46 games and it's incredibly tough but this club is in a really good position to rebuild properly, and it's got a fan base behind it which will certainly help it.”
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