This article is part of Football League World's 'Player View' series, this content strand is where we put ourselves in the shoes of a given player, and offer opinion-based outlook on the perspective on the situation at hand...

Stoke City secured a much-needed 4-2 victory at fellow strugglers Barnsley on Saturday, which helped the Potters move off the bottom of the Championship table and secure a positive start for new manager Michael O’Neill.

O’Neill made the decision to take charge of Stoke’s trip to Barnsley rather than watch the match from the stands, and he also made some key changes to the side, with the likes of Ryan Woods, Tom Ince, James McClean, Tom Edwards, Lee Gregory and Bruno Martins Indi back into the starting line-up, as he adopted a 4-3-3 formation.

Those changes certainly appeared to pay off with the Potters putting in a much-improved display, especially going forwards with the Potters managing to score four goals, having managed to find the net just 13 times in their opening 15 Championship matches.

As well as making six changes to the starting line-up, O’Neill made the decision to recall striker Mame Biram Diouf to the Potters’ squad for the trip to Barnsley – and the new Stoke manager brought Diouf off the bench for the final eight minutes of match for his first appearance of the campaign.

That suggests that O’Neill is prepared to offer Diouf a second chance to reignite his Stoke career, having been completely frozen out under Nathan Jones with the former Luton Town manager, preferring the likes of Sam Vokes, Tyrese Campbell, Lee Gregory and Scott Hogan to the 31-year-old throughout the opening months of the campaign.

Diouf has struggled to establish himself as an important member of Stoke’s side since the Potters were relegated from the Premier League in the 2017/18 season, with the striker making just 14 Championship appearances last term and failing to register a single goal in those limited minutes.

However, Diouf does provide a different type of option to some of Stoke’s other strikers, with the forward offering more mobility than the likes of Vokes and Gregory, and more of a physical presence than both Hogan and Campbell – and O’Neill could elect to use the 31-year-old’s ability to run the channels and stretch opponents.

The striker has always offered work rate and willingness to run the channels for Stoke during his time at the club, but Diouf has often frustrated with his ability to convert chances in the final third, managing to reach double figures in the league only once in his first season at the club, with his next best tally of six coming in the 2017/18 season.

O’Neill, though, has already proven his ability to help improve the form of struggling strikers, having helped Kyle Lafferty re-establish his reputation with the forward scoring an impressive seven goals for Northern Ireland in qualifying for Euro 2016, which helped him earn a move away from Norwich City where he was finding minutes difficult to come by.

Diouf will now be needing to show O’Neill right for showing faith in him and offering him the chance to compete for his place back in Stoke’s starting line-up – and it will be up to the 31-year-old to show his best form on the pitch in the next few weeks to make the most of his second chance.