Lack of alternatives keeps Mark Hughes in Stoke job for FA Cup tie

Mark Hughes is set to take charge of the FA Cup tie against Coventry but his Stoke future is hanging in the balance as the club consider ending his tenure.

Stoke are reluctantly weighing up whether to dismiss Hughes after a torrid run of results, though the lack of potential successors is complicating the hierarchy’s next move after talks on Tuesday.

Hughes has lost seven of the last ten Premier League games and his position is now under serious threat after the 1-0 home defeat to Newcastle, two days after he fielded a weakened team at Chelsea.

Peter Coates, the chairman, and his influential son John, who is the vice-chairman, plus chief executive Tony Scholes, will be the decision makers as the Staffordshire club deliberate over their first mid-season sacking since 1998.

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Stoke’s top brass were determined to give Hughes until the summer before assessing whether to take the club in a different direction, as they did in 2013 when Tony Pulis left the club. However, results and performances are now forcing them to contemplate a decision they were desperate to avoid making.

Hughes is expected to still take the FA Cup tie at League Two promotion hopefuls Coventry this weekend while he is also scheduled to attend a recruitment meeting on Thursday, when the squad return to training after two days off.

But there is a growing sense the Welshman’s four-and-a-half year reign is coming to an end as Stoke consider possible replacements.

Premier League experience is likely to be a requirement, with the likes of Ronald Koeman and Martin O’Neill the most obvious candidates.

Roy Hodgson, Sam Allardyce and Alan Pardew would also have been in contention, if Stoke make a change, but are now in work at other top-flight clubs to underline the lack of available options.

For the meantime, Stoke are maintaining a “business as usual” approach and Hughes will discuss targets for the January transfer window when the players and coaching staff return to the Clayton Wood training ground on Thursday.

Hughes faced fierce chants for his dismissal at the end of the Newcastle defeat and also stormed out of his press conference when questioned again on his controversial team selection at Chelsea.

Charlie Adam, the midfielder, has defended Hughes and insisted he can pull the club away from the relegation zone.

“Of course I’m disappointed to see banners against the manager, who has done a wonderful job here,” he said.

“Fans have an opinion and we respect that. Times are tough, let’s not hide from it, and we’re under pressure – that’s us as a group, manager, staff and players. We have to take the flak. We thoroughly deserve it at the moment and it’s only us who can change it.

“Situations like that don’t help but we’ve got to get ourselves out of the mess we’re in.

“Fans backed us during the game but it’s still hard to hear at the end because I think he’s done a great job. He’s transformed this club and hopefully he gets the opportunity to take us to the end of the season.

“We can turn this around. We have got characters in the dressing room and if we can get one or two maybe in the window to liven it up, a couple of fresh faces, and see where that takes us.”