There was one Stoke City positive from drab Blackburn Rovers defeat: View | OneFootball

Results haven't picked up since the appointment of Steven Schumacher, and the mood of the Stoke City fans is not a good one, but there is one thing that the supporters can cling on to for hope.

Stoke lost 3-1 to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday. Prior to the game, only one point separated the two sides, and now there is a four-point gap between them. Worse still, the Potters are just three points above Queens Park Rangers, who are in the first relegation spot.

It was clear to see from the fans' reactions after the match against Rovers that they are not happy with where the club and the team are at. Stoke have won two games since the end of October. Summer signing Wouter Berger was confronted by angry supporters after the game.

Despite the poor run of form, and the just as bad performance at Ewood Park, there was one thing for Stoke fans to hold on to for some hope.

Niall Ennis' goal vs Blackburn could be sign of good things to come

The forward joined Stoke from Rovers at the end of the January transfer window. He was reunited with his former boss (Schumacher) who he played so well under when the pair were in League One with Plymouth Argyle.

The game against his former side was Ennis' second for the Potters, and he showed with his goal, in the 39th minute, that he's formed a decent connection with some of his fellow forwards.

Bae Jun-Ho received the ball with his back to goal, and flicked it over the Blackburn defender, and into the path of Ennis. The 24-year-old got on the end of it, cut back on to his preferred right foot, and sent the keeper the wrong way with his finish.

That was the forward's first goal of the season. He struggled after making the jump to the Championship, after being so impressive in Plymouth's promotion-winning 2022/23 campaign. If Schumacher can get the 24-year-old back to the form he had a season ago, then that will help Stoke massively in the relegation battle that they now find themselves in.

How to get the best out of Niall Ennis

What is clear from the goal he scored last weekend, and the system that he was used in when he was with Argyle, is that he works best when he has players around him to bounce off. With Plymouth and their system, he often had two players just wide and behind him, and there were also the overlapping wing-backs to help out too.

Stoke played a different system against Rovers.

They used a 4-3-3 with Ennis playing through the middle. So he didn't have a teammate on his hip to bounce the ball off, but the likes of Jun-Ho and others are getting closer to him, which should get the best out of Ennis.