Opta report reflects badly on Stoke City recruitment, Steven Schumacher, and Alex Neil: View | OneFootball

Stoke City remain precariously placed in the Championship table heading into the final international break of the season.

The Potters were able to pick up six points this month with victories over Preston North End and Middlesbrough, but a heavy defeat to Norwich City in their most recent encounter leaves them just two points clear of the relegation zone ahead of the final eight games of their season.

And the first of which will see Steven Schumacher's side make the trip to another play-off hopeful on Good Friday, hoping to cause an upset against Hull City to move themselves even further from the bottom three.

Overall, it's been an extremely poor season for the Potters, who have continued to languish in the second tier since their relegation from the Premier League in 2018, having been unable to be anywhere near in contention of regaining their top flight status.

Six different managers have tried and failed, two of which have been this season after Alex Neil was sacked by the club in December, with their form failing to improve under the guidance of Schumacher, who had impressed with Plymouth Argyle.

One alarming statistic is the failure to have an impact from the bench this season, with Stoke ranked among the lowest scoring sides in the entire Football League from substitutes, according to Opta.

Stoke City are among the lowest ranked for goal involvements by substitutes

While there are a plethora of statistics this season concerning the Potters that are underwhelming, the one that relates to the impact of substitutes in games is relatively alarming.

Substitutes are proving to be more important than ever before. With matches lasting longer and managers able to make five subs in league matches, players coming off the bench have made an incredible impact this term.

In England’s top four tiers, 642 goals have been scored by substitutes in league action this season, surpassing last season's total of 617 in the whole of the English Football League with two months of the season remaining.

But for Stoke, this has proved difficult to achieve. Based on this season's statistics, Schumacher's side are currently ranked the fourth lowest out of the 92 teams in the English football pyramid with just seven goal involvements from substitutes in all competitions.

You would have to go back to September for the last time a Stoke player scored when introduced from the bench. Nathan Lowe's goal in senior football ensured of a 3-2 victory to end a five-game winless run in the league.

When compared to other sides in the Championship, the Potters' record is the worst in the division. Just above them in the standings are Sunderland and Rotherham United who have eight goal involvements this term.

At the other end of the table, both Southampton and Ipswich Town find themselves among the top scorers from the bench this campaign, closely followed by Leicester City, Watford and Middlesbrough.

While there are a multitude of problems at the Bet365 Stadium, this report ultimately brings itself back round to the two managers this season, along with the recruitment team at the club.

Having allowed the likes of Jacob Brown, Josh Tymon, Nick Powell and Connor Taylor to leave the club, it was imperative that new faces were brought through the doors to ensure an improvement on last season's 16th-placed finish was made.

And despite bringing in a number of players for transfer fees, including Basel's Wouter Burger, Mehdi Leris from Sampadoria and CS Maritimo winger, Andre Vidigal, none have really managed to hit the heights expected of them since their arrivals at the club.

Having only been announced as the new head coach in December, Schumacher had the January window to add players to his squad to improve their fortunes for the second part of the season.

Five players were welcome to Stoke at the start of the year, including Million Manhoef and Niall Ennis to add some firepower to the front line. In the 16 appearances between them, just one goal has been managed.

While the manager's will receive the brunt of the criticism when concerning transfers, it is fair to recognise that the transfer strategy at the club has been unusual over the last couple of years. It remains to be seen what division the Potters will play their football in next season, but in the light of Opta's findings, could force them to think differently in how they approach the transfer market next time around.