Remarks suggesting that ‘a good 7-0 thrashing is what we need’ have, in recent weeks, shocked me. The mere notion that a Stoke City supporter could possibly want the team to lose - just to get rid of the manager - is astounding. Why on earth would anyone want their team to lose?

Unfortunately, it seems as though these fans seem more pre-occupied with the current manager than the team itself. There’s nothing wrong with taking an interest in off-the-field affairs – many of us do. But when people become so relentlessly obsessed with one man, then surely it is time for these people to look at themselves and ask – am I really a supporter of Stoke City FC, or an enemy of Tony Pulis?

You can’t be both.

We are, at the time of writing, a mere 13 games into a 46 game league season, and already we see many fans calling for the manager’s head. Saying that, it wasn’t really 13 games, was it? It was right from the word ‘go’ - based purely on the results of his last tenure and the opinions of vocal Plymouth supporters. Has anyone stopped to consider that Tony might have been working under the same conditions at Plymouth as at Icelandic Stoke City?

The reluctance to give Pulis a real chance has, in the past few weeks, embarrassed many ‘supporters’ who have seen ‘their’ side thrash Leeds United 4-0 and come back to beat Sunderland 2-1. Yes, last weekend’s defeat away at Southampton was disappointing, but can we really expect to win every game? I think not.

The man who seemingly splits the fan-base is currently assembling a squad worthy of promotion to the best league in the world – the Premiership. He can not do this properly unless he has the unity and support of those behind him. In my opinion, it is not just down to him to prove us wrong; it is also down to us to help Stoke City as a whole get to where they want to be. Is it the majority or the vocal minority? I suggest the latter – the total failure of the ‘Red Card Protest’ and the lack of ‘Pulis Out!’ chants at the Britannia itself I think back me up.