Roden returns to Stoke as Head of Medical & Performance

Walters said: “Many players and coaches who have worked with Damian over the past two decades, both here in the UK and overseas, testify to his methods being crucial to their success.

“He will come in to lead the Medical and Performance department, which is a vital area for any football club. To bring in one of the game’s elite operators in his field is a significant step forward for us.

“It is important that we provide our Manager and coaches with everything they need to be successful, and Damian’s expertise will play a key role in that.”

Roden will lead a unified performance and medical department at Stoke, with Joel Dawson continuing as Head of Performance and Matthew Lancett as Head of Medical Services.

Roden, 51, left Burnley, where he was Head of Performance, in February after 18 months’ service. He has also been Head of Sport Science at Bolton, Blackburn, QPR, Manchester City, Seattle Sounders, Anderlecht and Wales.

In 2019, Roden gave a candid interview to TGG about his four-and-a-half years with Stoke. In his first three seasons, the club achieved consecutive ninth-placed finishes – a height they hadn’t reached since the mid-seventies.

After that, however, things quickly unravelled quickly as a new style of play – and player – was introduced. This ultimately led to relegation in 2018.

“We had the most hard-working and honest group of players I’d ever encountered in those first few seasons at Stoke,” Roden told TGG.

“Jon Walters, Glenn Whelan, Charlie Adam, Peter Crouch, Ryan Shawcross, Robert Huth – they would run through a brick wall for you. They craved work, their nutrition was right, their sleep was right, they paid attention to what they had to do for recovery.

“They realised they were professionals and they wanted longevity. The problems came when those players were filtered out. Then you’re trying to get more talented players to buy into the same work ethic, which unfortunately didn’t happen.

“The DNA of Stoke had changed. The players that came in didn’t buy into a hard training culture. They felt, ‘no, we’re footballers’. Well, yes, but you’re in the Premier League and you need to run.

“When players are not willing to work as hard in training, or to look after their bodies, or to give everything in a game, that’s going to affect fitness and results. When Paul Lambert suggested some players weren’t fit enough he was bang on. It wasn’t anything that hadn’t been discussed a season before though.”

In the end, Roden said he decided to leave because “I wasn’t really having any influence and there was no point in me being there.”

Roden’s beliefs about the DNA and identity of Stoke would certainly seem to tally with those of Sporting Director Walters.

In an interview with TGG in 2024, Walters said: “What’s the identity of the city? Hard work, never give up, united stronger. We need that back, showing the fans a representation on the pitch of what they are. When they pay good money to watch us play, they want to see themselves on the pitch.

“There was a real strong identity when I was here as a player. I always felt there was a real togetherness and a real connection between the players, staff and fans.

“Coming in, I didn’t feel that was there. My job is to bring the football side of it and create something the fans want to see. We want to grow a community within the club and have us versus everyone else.”