This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Comment’ series, this content strand is where the author of the article issues their personal opinion on the topic at hand...

As disappointing starts to a season go, Stoke City's opening exchanges of the current Championship campaign surely have to be up - or indeed down there - among the very worst that could have happened.

After their underwhelming return to life in the Championship last season, the Potters wasted no time over the summer transfer window in making changes to their side, with ten new senior players joining the club, and 13 more departing the Bet365 Stadium, meaning that this season was supposed to be different.

With January managerial appointment Nathan Jones now having a squad built to suit him, and with the renewed determination not to experience yet another anti-climax this year, Stoke were unsurprisingly expected to mount that push for promotion to the Premier League that many were waiting to see last season.

But while things have indeed been different, it has certainly not been in the way that anyone around Stoke City would have wanted them to be.

So far this season, Nathan Jones' side have picked up just a single point in the league, suffering six defeats in seven league matches.

Given that means that Jones has won just three league games since his appointment back in January, and with the club currently rooted to the bottom of the second tier, it is perhaps little surprise that claims are already being made that the club are searching for a successor to the Welshman, and the identity of their apparent is unlikely to come as too much of a shock either.

According to recent reports, the Potters are keen to appoint Chris Hughton as their new manager, and looking at Hughton's record, you can certainly see why that is the case.

Twice before Hughton has won promotion to the promised land of the Premier League from the second tier, with Newcastle and Brighton, with the Irishman then going onto to defy plenty of odds and expectations to keep the Seagulls in the Premier League for the past two years prior to his sacking at the end of last season.

Two red cards, TEN yellow cards... Click here to see the 7 dirtiest Championship matches of all-time

It is clear therefore, that Hughton would be a solid appointment for a Championship side to make, and Stoke certainly would not be the first to attempt such a deal.

Since Hughton's departure from Brighton at the start of the summer, it has been reported that West Brom, Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday all tried to bring Hughton back to the Championship during pre-season, and the fact that all three have failed to do that, highlights just how big an achievement it would be for Stoke to bring the 60-year-old to the Bet365 Stadium.

Not only does the number of jobs Hughton has turned down from the Championship suggest that he is reluctant to return to the division, the position of the sides he has apparently rejected also indicates this could be a hugely difficult taks for the Stoke hierarchy.

Whereas West Brom were expected to be among the top contenders for promotion this season, with Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday not far behind given how they finished last season, there is no escaping that in contrast to that right now, Stoke look destined for a relegation battle.

Considering therefore that Hughton appears not to be keen to step back into the second tier to take charge of a side set to fight for promotion back to the Premier League, it is hard to really see him be tempted by a side who are winless, uninspired, and seemingly facing a fight against relegation to League One, as unexpected at that may have been even just a few months ago.

That being said, it is worth noting that Brighton were locked in their own battle against relegation from the Championship when Hughton took charge on the south coast on News Year Eve 2014, and just look where he got them to.

It seems therefore that Hughton is not one to shy away from a challenge, and with the way Stoke are heading right now, that is exactly what they need.

It seems that whether that is what they get however, could be an entirely different matter.