Yahoo News Stoke City caretaker managers facing cup reunion after Steven Schumacher exit
Alex Morris and Ryan Shawcross are getting Stoke City ready for a Carabao Cup third round tie against Fleetwood Town following the exit of Steven Schumacher.
Schumacher has left Stoke this morning after nine months in charge, with a 1-0 Championship defeat at Oxford United on Saturday proving to be his final game at the wheel. His assistants Mark Hughes and Chris Cohen, first team coach Peter Cavanagh and head of performance Elliot Turner have left too.
Stoke are in talks with Norwich about bringing in their first team coach Narcis Pelach as new head coach but for now preparations continue at Clayton Wood.
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Morris had joined the first team coaching set-up on a permanent basis in the summer having joined in 2023 as lead under-21s coach with extra responsibility of building a bridge to the seniors. He has seen Sol Sidibe, Jaden Dixon, Nathan Lowe, Emre Tezgel and Freddie Anderson cross the bridge during that time. He spent the last two months of last season focusing on the first team and helped secure their status in the Championship.
The 41-year-old had spent most of his career to that point at Crewe Alexandra, where he had focused on coaching since injuries forced his early retirement as a player - although he grew up in the Potteries and is a lifelong Stoke fan. He built a strong reputation coaching in the youth and first team set ups and took over as manager in 2022 before passing the reins to Lee Bell for what was described as "compassionate reasons".
Jon Walters said when he moved Morris across to the first team in March: "He’s a very experienced coach. He’s up on the gantry on the match day anyway but to be on the training pitch and having more eyes (will be valuable). He’s a very, very well thought of coach and we need to utilise him more."
Shawcross needs little introduction. A Stoke legend as player and captain, he returned as youth coach in the summer of 2023, initially working with the under-18s before moving up to the 21s, where he ultimately took over from Morris.
Morris said recently: “I think the two major qualities that Ryan has away from the pitch are that he’s humble and self-aware. You wouldn’t know he’d had such a great career at the club and holds legendary status, let’s be honest. I think he’d be in a lot of supporters’ top XI of all time – he certainly would mine! He is humble in his character and communication with staff and with players.
“And he doesn’t feel entitled. He’s come straight out of his playing career, when he had represented his country, and there would be many people who would think that things should be handed to them on a plate. He is definitely not like that. He knows what his strengths are, knows the areas he needs to improve and he’s always asking questions, he’s inquisitive, keen and hungry to learn off the people he’s got around him. I know he’ll source opinions from people outside the club too.
“He does a lot of work on his own individual development alongside his main job, which is making Stoke City’s next generation to be better players.”
Morris and Shawcross had stepped in as part of a caretaker team last December following the exit of Alex Neil, with Paul Gallagher placed in interim control. They saw Stoke end a four-game losing run to draw with Swansea and West Brom before Schumacher was appointed.
There will be a familiar face in the opposition dug out too as Charlie Adam returns to Stoke as Fleetwood boss. His team will turn up at the bet365 Stadium on the back of a 3-2 League Two win at Carlisle United on Saturday, when Danny Mayor, ironically a good friend of Schumacher, scored twice.
