Stoke City manager Mark Robins has had to contend with fitness concerns following the club's loss to Southampton on Saturday.
Former Potters defender Gareth Owen believes the starting XI shares responsibility for the defeat, not just the substitutes who came on during the match. Owen told BBC Radio Stoke that several players showed signs of physical tiredness that forced Robins into changes he may not have wanted to make.
Physical Demands Taking Their Toll
"He didn't want to take Eric Bocat off, he didn't want to disrupt that back four, but because he was flagging from a physical perspective, he felt he needed to do that," Owen said.
Owen pointed to several factors affecting the squad's condition. The club has dealt with players missing pre-season, while two new signings from Ipswich Town have yet to reach full match fitness. Sam Gallagher and Ben Gibson both had limited playing time last season, meaning they need time to build their physical conditioning.
Visible Drop in Performance
The decline in physical capability became particularly apparent in the final 30 minutes of the Southampton match. "Certainly on the basis of that last 30 minutes, you definitely saw a difference in the physicality of the players," Owen observed.
The club has stated publicly that it expects to improve as the season progresses, though Owen cautioned against creating unnecessary difficulties early on through poor fitness levels.
