'I WANT TO REPAY THE CLUB'S FAITH'

THERE was a time 13 months ago when Tyrese Campbell was looking to get out of the Potteries and start again somewhere else.

- John Wragg

Now he is the key to Stoke getting out of the Championship.

Michael O’Neill has done a lot of significant things in sieving out the chaos of a relegated club, but nothing is more central to his rebuild than keeping Campbell at Stoke.

“At the point when Michael O’Neill came in I wasn’t really involved at all,” says Campbell.

“I’ll be honest and say I was probably looking to move on because at that stage of my career, and even now, I need to be playing.

“I wanted to make a move that was going to be best for me, but he sat me down and told me he wanted me to stay and play.

“He told me he saw a lot of potential in me and I’m happy that we had that conversation because I’m reaping the rewards of it now.”

The gnawing impatience of youth was part of Campbell’s problemhe’s only 21 three days after Christmas - but Nathan Jones’ insistence on trying to fit square pegs into a system of play that wasn’t working was also a problem.

Campbell has obvious talent. It comes from his dad, Kevin, 228 games for Arsenal, over 140 for Everton, in a 19-year, seven-club career.

His lad was anxious to get going.

But in Jones’ 34 league games over nine months he played Campbell only five times and he got him one goal in the 16th minute of a surprise 2-0 home win over Fulham.

Surprise

Jones was only to last two more games and Campbell was dropped to the bench again for the last one of those at Millwall.

In O’Neill’s 48 Championship games up until yesterday, Campbell had played 27 times and scored 14 goals.