Stoke City manager Nathan Jones has confessed to making a mistake when he substituted midfielder Ryan Woods in his side's defeat to Charlton Athletic over the weekend.

The Potters suffered a second consecutive defeat at the start of the new Championship season as they lost 3-1 to newly promoted Charlton, who scored twice in the last 15 minutes to seal victory.

Lyle Taylor had given the Addicks a first-half lead, but this was cancelled out by Tom Ince's strike before half-time. Chuks Aneke then scored six minutes into his Charlton debut to put the home side in front, before Conor Gallagher struck soon after to seal the points.

Jones substituted Woods when the scores were even at 1-1, with the Welshman withdrawing the former Brentford midfielder to replace him with Mark Duffy on his Stoke debut.

However, the Stoke boss admitted to the club's media he made an error in bringing Woods off, but claimed he made the decision in the hope it would help Stoke push for the three points.

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Woods made 27 appearances for Stoke last term but he lost his place in the side towards the end of the season, which means he will now be aiming to win over Jones this campaign.

The verdict

It is refreshing to see Jones make such an honest admission which exposes the fact that he made a costly tactical error during the match.

Jones made the swap in the hope it would increase Stoke's attacking momentum in the final stages of Saturday's match, but Woods' exit meant his side lost their midfield solidity for the final 15 minutes.

This incident means Woods' importance to the Stoke side is clear to see when he is on his game, and the midfielder has now surely worked his way into Jones' plans for the season ahead.

I do think it is good that Jones is showing this level of honesty, as it is the only way to get the fan base on his side if results are not going too well on the pitch.