Taylor: 'Adam must show his mental strength for Stoke'

It hasn't been a good few weeks for the Scot. First he missed a last-minute penalty against Brighton & Hove Albion, which cost the team a vital three points, and then he was sent off during their 2-1 defeat to Everton last weekend after clattering into Wayne Rooney.

It is these lapses in concentration which former player Stuart Taylor has advised Adam to get rid of, especially with how close things are in the bottom half of the Premier League: tenth to nineteenth are separated by just nine points with seven-eight games remaining.

"It's been a difficult week for Charlie - obviously missing the penalty before against Brighton was difficult for him, and then the sending off, so we have to pick him back up again which we will do," Taylor, whose now Stoke's first-team coach, said.

"He came back in earlier in the week and apologised - he obviously didn't intend to get sent off, but that is football and it was a real blow for us to go down to 10 men.

"He's been down, just as a few of the lads have been, and that is understandable. But it's our job as coaches, and the manager as well, to pick them back up and be ready for the next game.

"Charlie has to show his mental strength now and show that he's ready to give everything he's got for the football club if called upon."

Stoke will certainly need it too given that they are currently in 19th with 27 points and three points adrift of West Ham in safety.