Stoke City have scored twice in four straight games for the first time in four years and scored at least once in 12 games in a row for the first time in 25 years

This might be tempting fate but, having written about fitness and injuries already, we'll hold our breath and type that Stoke City have scored in 12 consecutive games for the first time in 25 years. It is the first time they have scored at least twice in four consecutive games since 2022.

Stoke have scored 14 times in the last seven games, ironically since selling the player who scored or made 45 per cent of the entire goals tally last season. There have been 11 different scorers in that time, including the own goal turned in by Neto Borges on Tuesday. There have been four by strikers, three from defenders and six from midfielders.

On average it historically takes about 67 goals to finish in the top eight and if Stoke carry on at the rate they have so far they will end up with about 78. That is some leap considering they got 51 last year, 45 the year before that and 49 in 2023/24.

“It’s really important to have different players scoring,” said Mark Robins. “You’ve asked me about goal scorers in the past and I’ve said that I don’t tell players not to score or not to shoot.

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“But in terms of what we’ve done at the moment is really encouraging. Everybody can score, everyone can contribute and everybody will contribute. That’s the team ethos. That’s what a team is. You can see them starting to create, see them knowing that I’m going to make this run and I might get the ball, I might not get the ball but it’s the right thing to do because I’m creating space…

“Those are the things that you’re looking for.”

Stoke have the wonderful Ethan Galbraith on three goals in the first 10 games then four players on two: Jack McGlynn, Sam Gallagher, Justin Devenny and Eric Bocat.

Robert Bozenik got his first in the league in mid-week, having scored twice in the Carabao Cup, while £6m summer signing George Hirst got off the mark against Charlton last month and is staking his claim for more minutes.

Bozenik has had to be patient at times already this season while Hirst joined from Ipswich having missed a chunk of pre-season due to World Cup commitments with Scotland. Lamine Cisse had to wait but has then showed his potential to lead the line in certain games.

Then there’s Gallagher, whose availability since March has been chalk and cheese compared to his most of his luckless first couple of years at the club. His two goals have been scorchers but it is clear that Robins wishes he could call on him all the time, like other key men.

“Tuesday night, ifs and buts – if we had Sam Gallagher fit I think we could have really hurt them more, but we didn’t,” said the manager. “Bosun Lawal, Junior (Tchamadeu), those players if they’re fully fit you can hurt teams more in different ways. We’ve got a lot of different qualities in the team and that’s where we’ve got to work towards and we’ve go to have different ways of solving problems.”

But he’s not waiting for Gallagher and no one is getting a free pass into the starting XI – and, to be fair, it seems like none would want one.

Robins said: “Everybody is an important part of the team. They’re really important, all of them and they are all going to play their part.

“Sometimes you go through a spell when it’s not your turn but you’ve got to be ready for your turn because it’s coming. You get a turn if you’re doing all the right things and exhibiting all the right behaviours. We can’t just be a club where we let the tail wag the dog, it has to be, ‘This is us, this is what we are and this is where we need to get to.’

“That is a big part of things. I’m repeating myself now but it’s really important that people understand it inside the building and outside the building. This is what needs to happen, this is what is happening.

“George Hirst is a big part of that – he can play a huge part. With the touch on Tuesday he was turning inside to try to get a shot away but it turns into a set for Robbie, which he takes brilliantly. There is still more to come from George, still more we’re going to get.

“Everybody just needs to be focused on what they need to do and take the chance when they get their opportunity. That’s the same for everybody.”