Stoke City have won once and lost twice in their opening three Championship outings, continuing to disappoint, compared to the potential of the squad, as they did in the second half of last season.

With players like Harry Souttar, Josh Tymon, Lewis Baker, Jacob Brown, Dwight Gayle and new signing Tariqe Fosu at the club, there is the core of a promotion-pushing side at Stoke.

However, the Potters have not been able to realise their potential in the four seasons since relegation from the Premier League, and keeping Michael O'Neill around in the dugout, into their fifth campaign after dropping out of the top-flight could prove to be a mistake.

The former Northern Ireland manager has had far more patience than Gary Rowett and Nathan Jones had as his predecessors, and with just one year remaining on his contract at the bet365 Stadium, it would not be ridiculously expensive to part ways.

A sacking would be harsh after three games, but given how they dropped off last term it is not just three games, and with tricky fixtures against Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Blackburn Rovers and Swansea City to come, the club should not hesitate to pull the trigger if results and performances do not improve.

Sean Dyche is still out of a job since leaving Burnley last season, his style of play may hold him back in building on the tremendous job he conducted with the Clarets, but his quality is undeniable and should not be overlooked by the Potters.

Even candidates with smaller reputations like Carlos Corberan, Liam Manning, Ian Evatt and Karl Robinson would back themselves to get more out of this talented squad, than O'Neill is currently getting, and keeping him in a job until the end of the season when he can depart without being paid off could prove to be a mistake in the long run.

Having already had the best part of three seasons in the dugout, patience is running thin, and without a major upturn in performance levels in the coming weeks, Stoke are risking wasting an opportunity this term by sticking with O'Neill.

The manager is even more important while the Potters cannot spent as heavily as they have done in the transfer market in recent years, and in all honesty, a solution to their stagnation probably should have been found before this season kicked off.