Stoke City: Narcis Pelach has found surprise solution to issue that plagued Steven Schumacher - View | OneFootball

Ben Wilmot has impressively stepped up at right-back in recent games

Stoke City look to have shored up their defence in recent games, and one selection decision certainly paid off for Narcis Pelach in their 0-0 draw against Swansea City last time out.

The Potters have not been known for their defensive stability in recent times, particularly under old boss Steven Schumacher, as they lost by three or more goals on four occasions in the nine months that he was in charge.

As a result, Spainard Pelach has had to make sure that they are not as leaky at the back, and while it has taken a bit of time for his new ideas to bed in, their goalless deadlock in South Wales definitely showed signs of progress, and reinforced the fact that Pelach looks to have found a solution in a position that troubled Schumacher in the early stages of this term.

Ben Wilmot was the Potters' starting right-back against Swansea as Stoke kept their first clean sheet in six outings, as he also was against Portsmouth when Stoke conceded just once to a break-away goal and hit six in return.

Wilmot has been preferred to Junior Tchamadeu in those last two games, and has stepped up impressively ahead of the 20-year-old, so should be the first-choice at right-back now for the foreseeable future as a result of his performances.

Ben Wilmot has impressed at right-back

Wilmot is no stranger to playing on the right of the back four for Stoke, which Pelach presumably will have been aware of, given his almost immediate willingness to try him out there in high-pressure games.

The 24-year-old has been at Stoke for over three years now, with 16 of his 120 games for the club coming at right back, and it has come as somewhat of a surprise to see him deployed there once again, but Potters fans will not be complaining after two very solid showings.

He was handed a starting berth there against Portsmouth last week up against a tricky left-winger in Josh Murphy, and almost set the tone straight away as his long-range shot in the first minute crashed against the crossbar, then went on to win 75% of his ground duels, make five recoveries, and complete six passes into the final third.

The trip to Swansea was no different, as he lined up next to Michael Rose and behind Lewis Koumas at the Swansea.com Stadium, and produced a very solid performance as the Potters kept a clean sheet and the hosts' left-wing danger man Eom Ji-sung was kept relatively quiet throughout.

The former England youth international will surely be happy to play in any position under his new head-coach going forward, and his post-match interview detailed exactly what he has been focusing on to play to his strengths at right-back.

"Personally I’ve really enjoyed it. (Pelach) has been really good with me and I think everyone else would say the same. He’s extremely detailed in his work and we’ve had plenty of meetings. I go through clips (of right-backs) with some of the coaches in the week," he told Radio Stoke, via Stoke-on-Trent Live.

"It’s not my normal position so I have to learn it and if the manager wants me to play there, I’ll do it and give my best and make sure I’m as well prepared as I can be going into the game.

"The manager’s not asking me to be bombing forward and overlapping but he does want me to support the player so I end up a little higher up the pitch. It’s a physically different position to centre-half so it’s taking my legs a little time to get used to it. The international break has come at a good time for me.

"But I just run through clips, I learn as much as I can and I want to do the best I can in whatever position the manager asks me to play."

Pelach had an issue to solve at right-back

Right-back has not been a position of trouble for Stoke over the last few seasons due to loanee Ki-Jana Hoever's impressive exploits, but they looked to have left themselves short this season after a summer without a new addition to that position.

Tchamadeu has been left as Pelach's first-choice at right-back this season, as a result, with Lynden Gooch as a back-up, but currently injured, and youngster Jaden Dixon who can also step into that role, but is unlikely to be trusted at just 17-years-old.

Tchamadeu did start the season relatively well under Schumacher, but his form is bound to go through peaks and troughs at just 20-years-old, and the convincing losses against Hull and Middlesbrough before he was dropped for Wilmot were clear examples of exactly that.

Wilmot, though, has now provided an alternative option to the former Colchester United man, and looks to have overtaken him in the running for a starting berth for the games to come.