Stoke City boss Nathan Jones responds to Jack Butland errors and calls to drop ‘distracted’ goalkeeper
Stoke City manager Nathan Jones has refused to blame Jack Butland for his recent errors, although says he is ‘not afraid to make big decisions’ amid calls to drop the England goalkeeper.
Butland dropped two big clangers in the Potters' goal on Wednesday night as they suffered a 3-1 away defeat to Preston North End at Deepdale.
The result meant Stoke are still waiting for their first league win of the season after three defeats and a draw from their opening four fixtures, leaving them rock-bottom of the Championship table.
The club are enduring one of the worst runs of form in the English Football League, having won just two of their last 22 league games, and Butland is the latest player to go under spotlight for his decline of form.
It follows a summer in which the 26-year-old was constantly linked with a move away from the Potteries, but his price tag proved too much for interested clubs and he has ended up staying at the bet365 Stadium.
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It’s not just Butland who has come under fire for his errors, though, with Wales midfielder Joe Allen also facing criticism after his early miss-of-the-season contender which cost Stoke a chance of victory in their 2-2 draw with Derby County.
But boss Jones insists he will not point the finger at any individuals in his squad, and says the whole team need to be collectively better to get Stoke out of their rut.
Speaking to talkSPORT host Jim White on Thursday, Jones said: “Look, it’s not just about individual errors and I’m not one for pointing fingers.
“I don’t want it become about Jack. I’m not going to come out and say ‘I’ve got no hesitation in dropping any individual’.
“Jack has been an excellent goalkeeper for me and there has been a lot of media speculation about his future, which doesn’t help.
“As we were travelling back on the bus yesterday, there was a story that he’s in jeopardy of losing his England place.
“Well, honestly, I’m not as worried about Jack losing his England place as us losing matches, so what we have to do is all pull together to win matches for Stoke.
“Collectively we have to be better. It’s not one individual who is costing us. A lot has been made of certain errors, especially from our big players, but collectively we’ve got to be better.
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"Yes, a lot was highlighted yesterday because it was a televised game, but we’ve got good players here and we’ve got to take responsibility as a group of players to be better.
“We’ll make the right decision we have to make to win games, and I don’t want to turn into any individuals who are costing us and they will lose their place and so on.
“We have to get results and I’ll pick a side I think will get us that result. I’m not afraid of big decisions, but it’s not just about one individual.”