Stoke City manager Nathan Jones has opened up about the reasons behind the absence of defender Tommy Smith for the Potters' trip to Millwall, which saw them fall to a 2-0 defeat at the Den.

The defeat at Millwall last weekend made it back to back defeats for Stoke, following the 1-0 loss at Sheffield Wednesday, and ended any potential feelings the club had turned things around after they managed to record successive wins against Swansea City and Fulham either side of the international break.

Smith, who has featured in just four times in the Championship for Stoke since arriving from Huddersfield Town in the summer, was again left out of the squad by Jones for the trip to Millwall, with Cameron Carter-Vickers starting at right-back in the absence of Tom Edwards.

Speaking to the Stoke Sentinel, Jones explained the reason for not bringing Smith back into the squad for the Millwall game despite Edwards missing out through injury, saying "Tommy Smith is finding a little bit of rhythm, so we could have included him, but he’s missed game time.

"But I don’t think it was a problem with selection. We picked enough defenders who can work, defend, put their head on it and graft.

"What we didn’t have, all over the pitch, was enough to out-work and out-graft Millwall."

The Verdict

Smith's absence for the Millwall game perhaps highlights just how much he has struggled during the opening few months of his time at the Bet365 Stadium, with Edwards largely being preferred at right-back since the first few games of the season.

However, with Edwards having picked up an injury, Smith might have felt he was in with a chance of getting some game time and establishing himself in the Stoke side at right-back, but the fact he was left out of the squad altogether suggests he still has a lot of work to do to convince Jones he is the right option to start in his defence.

Smith will be needing to work hard in training during the week to convince Jones he is ready to take Edwards' place in the starting line-up, which would then free up Carter-Vickers to move back into his more natural centre half role - and the next few weeks feel like they are make or break for the full-backs Stoke career.