Former Port Vale midfielder Robbie Earle believes that the Stoke City hierarchy will be lining up potential replacements for Nathan Jones despite the Potters win last time out.

A surprising 2-1 win over Swansea City last time out, Stoke's first league success of the campaign, appears to have saved Jones' job for now, even though his side remain bottom of the league.

However, writing for Stoke-On-Trent Live, Earle, who came through the ranks of the Staffordshire side before joining their rivals, insists that key figures will know they need to have a plan in place if they don't consistently pick up points moving forward.

"If results continue to improve and Stoke climb the table then great, but the club has to be thinking 'what if it doesn't?'

"It would be surprising if they aren't thinking about who their targets would be if the manager left. This is the time to be doing some intelligence. The club can't risk being in a situation where the manager goes after a few more games and then they have to scramble around for a few weeks looking for a replacement."

Jones' men are back in action after the international break when they face a tough home game against promotion-chasing Fulham.

The verdict

This may seem like a harsh comment from Earle but the reality is that he is spot on.

The victory in Wales appears to have given Jones the smallest bit of breathing space but Stoke are still massively underachieving and he will lose his job if they go on another poor run.

And, Stoke have to plan for all scenarios, so they need to have someone lined up. It might not be seen as a nice thing to do in terms of talking to candidates behind the managers back but that's what happens in football and the club need to be ruthless if things don't improve.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.

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