Stoke were sat in the middle of the Championship a few weeks ago when they came to Sunderland but since then, their season has really derailed. Their manager was sacked during the week and, understandably, The Wizards Of Drivel aren't exactly optimistic about today's fixture...
There’s only one place to start - Narcis Pelach has been sacked, what are your immediate thoughts?
He didn’t have a clue and was massively out of his depth. I suppose it’s not his fault he was appointed, the blame for that lies at the fault of technical director Jon Walters - another bloke massively out of his depth. The appointment of Jon Walters was by Jon Coates, a man not so much out of his depth as trying to swim the channel with lead boots and no arms.
Could this provide a bit of a boost for you against us?
The sacking is definitely deserved as he was not the right fit at all. It’s certainly hard to see how we can be worse than previous weeks. Confidence is on the floor at the moment so I’m not sure what reaction this will lead to from the players.
What do you make of Ryan Shawcross stepping into the dugout? Will he make many changes from his predecessor in such a small period of time?
Shawcross will probably try and see if he can address the defence, but won’t really have time to implement any kind of new tactics.
Who would you like to be appointed permanently next? You will have had three different head coaches in five weeks against us!
An actual football manager would be a start! Mark Robins, Tony Mowbray and Neil Harris have been linked and while none are box office, any of them could be just what we need. I’d take Mowbray if offered right now. I’ll proceed with caution, just in case we appoint Charlie Adam.
When we previewed the reverse fixture Stoke were 14th in the league, but you've slumped to 19th. What is the aim for your season at this stage?
Survive. We’ve won one in our last ten and we didn’t even deserve to win that. We’re on a one-way ticket to League One and only three teams being worse than us is gonna save us.
So what exactly has gone wrong?
We concede the most shots in the league and without Viktor Johansson we’d be bottom of the league as a result. The midfield is non-existent and we don’t create enough chances. All told, it’s a disaster.
You previously outlined Million Manhoef, Bae Jun-Ho and keeper Viktor Johansson as some of your best players. Is that still the case?
Yeah, but Viktor’s shot practice every match day means he’s our runaway player of the season.
Lynden Gooch was kept on the bench a few weeks ago, do you reckon he'll feature on Sunday?
Started at LWB against Leeds, but didn't have the best time of it. So who knows? It’s squad selection roulette time.
Which Sunderland player worries you the most?
All of them. The ones who can pass to their teammates and shoot on target particularly…
What's your score prediction for the game and goalscorers?
In all seriousness, Stoke 1 Sunderland 4. Koumas for us; Bellingham x2, Isidor x2.
In the reverse fixture you predicted us to finish 6th with Stoke in 16th. Have you changed your mind at all?
You’re top five probably. I’d snap your hand off for 21st at this point.
Finally, where should the travelling Sunderland fans head for a pre-match pint?
If you can hide your club colours and Mackem accents the bod bar at the station is a great spot. All titanic pubs are. Stoke (the town) has a couple of great ones including the Glebe. If the weather isn’t too bad get a beer from Barge-Inn Booze: a canal boat next to the ground.
