During this international break, Narcis Pelach was able to enjoy a change of scenery and take a break from football for a while, but Stoke City is no longer far from his thoughts.

“I went to Girona and Barcelona of course, to spend time with the family,” he says. “It was beneficial to take a break from football, which is difficult. Even though I ended up working, I did miss out on two or three days of football and family time.

Stoke is getting ready for both the return of domestic football and the minor issue of a three-game week that goes along with it. First up is a trip to Queens Park Rangers, the bottom-place team in the Championship, who have only triumphed once in 15 league games, that victory occurring in August.As the Potters attempt to maintain their own encouraging form, Pelach has been able to welcome all of his internationals back to training this week.

 

Sol Sidibe is an international who is currently on the margins of Stoke’s first team squad. During the most recent break, which was the last one of 2024, he captained England’s under-18 team against Poland in Spain. Earlier in the season, the son of Stoke’s favourite Mamady Sidibe set up Million Manhoef’s victory at Plymouth and has been in and out of the first team squad this season.

Prior to this break, Sidibe made his first appearance in six weeks when he came off the bench in the 1-1 draw with Millwall. Considering his most recent international adventure, Pelach is both happy with the midfielder’s development and admits that the teenager still needs to grow. But there is no denying that Sidibe’s potential excites him.

“It’s a great reward because he is a very, very clever player,” Pelach remarked in reference to Sidibe’s victory as captain of England. “When I first met him, I was genuinely taken aback by his capacity for thought, comprehension, and expression of ideas. He’s also a nice man, which is uncommon for a player his age. He may not be receiving all the minutes he would like, but occasionally you can assist young players by doing what I do.

“I won’t rush our conversation. That does not imply that I dislike him. I really like him, but I’m also quite picky about him, and I want to play with him only when I think he’s ready.

“I dislike letting young players play before they’re ready because if they don’t succeed, you have to take a step backwards. I prefer to be very cautious and mindful, and sometimes it’s better for his growth to not play every minute. He is receiving coaching, watching a lot of videos, and learning a lot.

He is the captain and a player for the England under-18 team. He came on for us the other day during a crucial match against Millwall. We’re going to be building, but I won’t rush anything because it’s not the best for him. He did a great job, and I’m extremely happy with the minutes that I saw from him.

“The first thing I’m going to look for in a player like him is that they’re not even 20 years old. My approach is to take care of him before the team, and I believe that this is the process for him right now. The more he does, the more he will also receive.

He will undoubtedly play a significant role for Stoke City, and I have high hopes that he will develop into a fantastic player for us in the future. Nevertheless, it doesn’t mean I won’t continue to push him. I believe we are headed in the right direction, and I will continue to push and demand.”

During this hiatus, Stoke gave an update on the planned renovation of their Clayton Wood training facility, which has already started and is expected to be finished by Christmas of next year. As Stoke looks to upgrade its facilities to provide the coaching staff and squad all they need to discover success on the pitch, Pelach and his staff find this to be an exciting prospect. Pelach now wants to make sure he is there to experience it!

He grinned and said, “This is a dream to fight for,” “I told my employees that we must figure out how to be the ones on site when the new facility opens. It inspires you to strive for it and is thrilling. Hopefully, we will be here in a year! Hopefully, we are the employees that will be able to work in this new facility and training area. Something exciting is going on.

“Everything about Stoke City is exciting, and I hope we can work together to create something, but for the time being, we have to fight now, in my opinion. Not only do we need the results right away, but we also need the style of play. It’s to obtain the

“Obviously, we must perform well this season if we want to be there at that time, but we want it to be solid for eight months so that we can begin a preseason in a terrific spot to go and battle.