'Potters have a lot of work to do this summer'

Stoke City's 2-0 defeat at Bristol City was their 18th loss in their past 32 games.

At the end of matchday 14, Stoke were second in the Championship with eight wins and 27 points.

Over the remaining 70% of the season they failed to double that win tally, picked up just 28 more points and compiled a record second only to Sheffield Wednesday as the worst in the league over that period.

Sadly, the first 14 games were the exception that kept the Potters away from relegation, but are Stoke in a better position now than they were this time last year when they'd just finished one place and four points worse off in 18th?

The answer is complicated.

The squad contains sellable assets, not least Sorba Thomas who indicated he'd be open to a move when answering my post match question about whether he'd be at the club in August with the words "no comment".

Stoke could potentially generate income by moving on younger players like Bae Junho, Eric Bocat or Million Manhoef and may also look to jettison some of their older, comparatively highly-paid colleagues.

To do so successfully, they'll need to find suitors willing to take those players and the right deal for all parties, but everyone at the club is probably available at the right price.

They might then have a reasonable amount of money to spend, but the club's recent track record in recruitment is patchy to say the least.

Stoke need more power, athleticism and physicality in their squad but, beyond that, those in coaching and recruitment must develop a clear idea of what they want a Stoke team to be, what they want it to represent, how they want it to play and how they're going to implement that.

Currently, there are vacancies within the coaching staff and that culture, identity or DNA - choose your own cliche - isn't clearly visible.

Manager Mark Robins and sporting director Jon Walters end the season under pressure and decisions will have to be made quickly on a structure and methodology for next season that everyone agrees on.

They cannot afford to end up in a position where big changes once again become inevitable early in a new season.

One major positive is that they now have a summer to spend getting everyone fit after a season badly affected by injuries to key players.

There's a lot of work to be done as a fanbase worn down by bottom-half finishes looks for hope and inspiration.