Miserable Premier League run hurting Stoke, says Mark Bowen
Monday 21 September 2015 14:35, UK
Stoke City's dismal start to the Premier League campaign is a growing concern, according to assistant boss Mark Bowen.
The Potters have have not yet won a match inside the regulation 90 minutes and suffered more misery again on Saturday after surrendering a two-goal lead against Leicester at the Britannia Stadium in a 2-2 draw.
Aside from a penalty shoot-out success at Luton in the second round of the Capital One Cup, Mark Hughes' side have not tasted victory since they beat Liverpool 6-1 on the final day of last season.
Ahead of Tuesday's League Cup third-round trip to Fulham, Bowen said: "When you are 2-0 up in the Premier League you expect to go on and win the game but we were punished for two individual mistakes.
"It is a bitter pill to swallow. For the majority of the game we played some terrific stuff. It is Monday morning and it is a feeling of frustration.
"You would be stupid not to be concerned about it. We have got to win games and get points on the board.
"But we have been in situations like this before. The sooner we get points the better but we are a decent side."
Even in their only recent victory, Stoke were almost caught out by Luton and Bowen has warned there can be no room for complacency as Stoke travel to Craven Cottage to face Championship opponents.
Bowen, who worked at Fulham under Hughes in the 2010-11 season, added: "We had an awakener in the last round against Luton.
"Maybe on the night we thought it might be easier than it was and possibly caught a cold. Hopefully that will be in the players' heads on Tuesday. Fulham has never been an easy place to go and we have got to really be at it to get a result.
"I would imagine there would be one or two fresh faces coming in but Mark tries to go as strong as possible through every single game he plays. We realise the importance of this.
"The crowd here are desperate for a good cup run and that's hopefully what we will give them."
Stoke will assess the condition of forward Bojan Krkic after his goalscoring return to the starting line-up against Leicester. The Spaniard is still working his way back to full fitness after suffering a serious knee injury in January.
Bowen said: "We are all delighted to see Bojan coming back and playing the part he did, and the icing on the cake was to get his goal.
"He will be wanting to kick every ball and play every minute now but he spent a lot of time out. We will just have to assess how he goes."
