Narcis Pelach had a pre-match pep talk with Tom Cannon to reiterate his faith in him – and then saw him repay it with four goals. Pelach got an emphatic first win as Stoke City head coach with a 6-1 thrashing of Portsmouth, with Cannon – and strike partner Sam Gallagher, who made his full debut – leading from the front in spectacular fashion. It was no mean turnaround after a deflating 2-0 defeat at Middlesbrough on Saturday when Cannon was taken off at half-time.
In fact, the 21-year-old striker, on loan from Leicester, had barely touched the ball in his first three league games for Stoke before this one. But Pelach said: “We had a very nice chat this week because I replaced him the other day at half-time. I said, 'Look I cannot be waiting for performances in the middle of a game, I have to do what is right for the team but I want to let you know that I am going to back you.
Three, four, five bad performances will not change my opinion about you.' “I know him, I know he is a good player but he needs game time, he needs to get ready from a physical point of view. I said, 'Life is about confidence and I have confidence in you, you need to feel free, you will start again.
' Even the performance against Middlesbrough I wasn't happy with, I'm not that kind of coach. I want to do something that is based on trust. It was very nice to listen to his answer as well.
He's a nice guy. “We had a good chat together and today I'm very happy with his performance. I think he deser.
