Mark Robins has done something at Stoke City he only managed once at Coventry City | OneFootball

Stoke City have started the 2025/26 Championship campaign in brilliant fashion

Stoke City have arguably been the Championship’s surprise package during the opening stages of the 2025/26 campaign.

The Potters spent a large majority of last year fighting towards the bottom of the table and only managed to finish two points clear of the relegation zone.

This was a continuation of the club’s woeful form since suffering relegation from the Premier League in 2018. Stoke have failed to finish above 14th in that time, despite numerous proven managers spending vast amounts of money to try and break that duck.

Times appear to have changed at the Bet365 Stadium however, as Mark Robins’ side sit third in the table heading into the September international break.

The Potters’ faithful have been treated to brilliant football for the first time in a while, dispatching Derby County, Sheffield Wednesday and Southampton with relative ease.

They narrowly came out second best against West Bromwich Albion in their last outing, another side who have started the campaign strongly and all signs point towards this season being the one where Stoke finally realise their potential.

Robins filled the vacancy left by Steven Schumacher in January 2025 but struggled to establish a successful system and almost suffered an immediate drop to League One.

After a pre-season with the group, results finally look to have come and there is one particularly rare aspect about the manager’s early-season success.

Stoke City’s flying start amplified by Mark Robins stat involving Coventry City

This isn’t Robins’ first taste of success in the Championship, having led Coventry City to the play-off final in 2023 and the FA Cup semi-finals in 2024.

The 55-year-old knows exactly what it takes to make sure his team is towards the sharp end of the table after 46 games, but Stoke City’s brilliant start even exceeds his usual expectations.

Historically, Robins’ Coventry City sides started seasons on the back foot and took a while to really get going. As the campaign progressed, their competitiveness would increase and ultimately culminate in a play-off charge come May.

Stoke have won three of their opening four league matches this term, something Robins only managed once during his time with the Sky Blues in the 2022/23 campaign.

This highlights how well the Potters have started and may breed optimism among the club’s fanbase that this year might be the one where they fight towards the top six.

The Staffordshire outfit have long been billed as big-spending underachievers in the Championship, but Robins' appointment always felt a shrewd one and they will hope he can continue working his magic in what is the manager's first full campaign in charge.

Stoke City will hope that they haven’t shown their hand too quickly

Football is a business built on emotion and at the start of every season, supporters up and down the country dream that the new campaign will be one that sees their team achieve great success.

After such a period in the doldrums, the Potters’ faithful will be particularly optimistic as a result of their brilliant start, but there will be a portion of the fanbase who are still waiting before getting too excited.

As Robins has shown in the past, some teams take their time and have to build into a season and with so many matches left to play, sides such as Southampton and Ipswich Town are more than likely going to shoot up the table.

Obviously, Stoke supporters should sing while they are winning, but will hope that their form doesn’t dwindle after the international break and that Robins’ side are the real deal.