Luke McNally talks to StokeonTrentLive about how he is settling in at Stoke City on a season-long loan from Burnley amid an injury crisis as the team heads to Leicester City
Luke McNally was a dozen games into his time at Coventry City when, as he describes it, his side got ‘hockeyed’ by Stoke City. It was 4-0, a demolition that left Stoke fans bouncing and the Coventry camp fearing hopes of a dart at the top six had ended.
Yet, as Stoke’s form was derailed partly by injuries, Coventry wouldn’t lose again until they were finally squeezed out in a penalty shoot-out at Wembley in the Championship play-off final. It showed the power of momentum in a division which is so tight.
“It comes down to timing but you have to put yourself in the position to make that happen,” said the 24-year-old centre-back. “That day we got absolutely hockeyed but we reset, got back on the wagon and that’s kind of what we need to do at Stoke if we lose a game. You just have to get back on it and trust that the results will come.
“I was looking at the league table, I don’t really look at it that much this early on in a season, but you know that if you go on a run, you’ll quickly be right up there so there’s no real panic on our side even if we need to pick up points, obviously. Once we keep turning out performances, I think it will happen sooner rather than later.”
Stoke, who McNally joined on a season-long loan from Burnley in the summer, themselves haven’t been on the end of many thrashings but too many times they have found themselves on the wrong side of fine margins. Like in mid-week against Southampton, when there was spirit in adversity but no points to show for it.
“It’s a mixed feeling after that game,” said McNally. “I have a view that really at the start of the season, you need to get performances in that show that for the rest of the season, you’re going to be up there. I think for the most part, we’ve done that plenty of times.
“Sometimes it’s just that bit of luck or I’m not sure what with the penny that just hasn’t dropped at times. I thought we performed ok in mid-week, there was a good fighting spirit and you could feel in the stadium that we had a lot of momentum. We were obviously disappointed to lose and it’s a points industry so we’re a bit deflated that way.
“But if we stick to our principles and keep turning in those performances through the season, it will go our way over the long-term.
“In the last couple of weeks I’ve felt it turning for the better. It takes time, you’ve a lot of new signings in there and you’re trying to build a culture and team environment. A couple of days in Bournemouth helped after the Carabao Cup game before the Bristol City game. It’s gelled the team well. I think we can only get better.
“If you can rack up a couple of wins or go unbeaten for a few games it can really change things quickly. We know we have the talent, that’s not in question, the signings we’ve made are good – we just need the penny to drop a little bit and I’m sure it will.”
The Southampton game also saw two more injuries added to a long list, with Ben Wilmot and Ki-Jana Hoever limping off in the second half. They joined fellow defenders Michael Rose, Enda Stevens and Lynden Gooch in a crowded treatment room and McNally is left counting his colleagues for this weekend’s trip to Leicester.
He said: “I would say it’s not ideal, but I wouldn’t say worry. At the end of the day, you’ve got to get on with your job. I’ve got a lot of confidence in the boys that are playing beside me. Junior and Ki ended up at centre-half on Tuesday and it didn’t really make a massive difference to me, I thought they performed well. It doesn’t worry me.
“We’ve good players to come in and although it’s not their position, good players can play anywhere really.
“I think it’s a good opportunity in that way as well (to show leadership) and hopefully bring the best out of me. But we’ve got a chip in as 11 players and be our own leaders, galvanise the group and go in there with a positive attitude.”
It has been a pretty frantic year-and-a-half or so for McNally in all. He’s been part of two major rebuilds, having signed for Burnley last year from Oxford, then Stoke this time – and he can take confidence from his experience.
He said: “It feels like I’m moving around a lot, but that’s the nature of football, isn’t it? You do a lot of moving and stuff like that but it’s all good. It’s a privilege really to be where I am so I definitely look at it like that.
“There had been a lot of changes when I came into Burnley and it definitely didn’t click straight away but, to be fair to the lads, they stayed calm, they realised there was something building. I think there’s a similar feeling here.
“We have to stay calm and the results will follow once we keep performing well. Eventually we’ll get on the right side of a lot of them.”
That stretches to darts at Clayton Wood too, even if there’s not quite the same pressure.
He said: “Every morning, Wouter (Burger) finishes his breakfast and drags me up to the darts. I can seem to get away at the minute but it’s a good laugh and the Dutch are good at darts.”
Burger had told the Sentinel not that long ago that McNally’s ability to hit doubles was giving him the edge but the defender said: “That was a few weeks ago, he’s got a lot better.”
