Alex Morris made a big impression on Steven Schumacher as he helped Stoke City take 12 points from their final seven games of the season
Alex Morris will stay up with Stoke City’s first team coaching staff for good after playing an important role in the strong finish to last season.
Morris, a lifelong Stoke supporter and Crewe Alexandra coaching stalwart, moved to Clayton Wood from Gresty Road last summer to take on what was described as a hybrid role between the academy and senior squad.
He passed on his duties in charge of the under-21s to Ryan Shawcross during the final international break of the season so he could focus on helping Steven Schumacher keep Stoke in the Championship. The 41-year-old would share the credit but Stoke won three, drew three and lost one of the final seven games after that switch and Schumacher was keen to keep him onboard.
Chris Cohen has also joined Mark Hughes and Peter Cavanagh in the backroom team while Paul Gallagher has left after one season back at the club
Schumacher said: “Our coaching set-up is complete now, there won’t be any more additions. I think we’ve got a really good blend. Hughesy and Cav will continue in the roles they have been doing and Alex Morris is going to stay with us in the first team because I spoke about how important he was especially towards the end of last season.
“We’ve got four really good grass coaches alongside myself who takes care of the game planning and the preparation towards the end of the week.
“It’s a good blend, a good mix and hopefully the players see the benefit of it.”
Cohen, aged 37, has a reputation for player development and Schumacher knows they are on the same page when it comes to football philosophies.
“Chris is someone I met on my pro licence,” said the head coach, who will welcome players back for the start of pre-season training on Monday.
“He’s a really good coach and he’s worked at a really good level. He’s worked with Nathan Jones for a long time as his assistant at Luton and Southampton, he’s recently worked at Lincoln last season, from January onwards and Lincoln had a brilliant end to the season and just missed out on the play-offs.
“He’s someone I’ve wanted to work with for a long time, since we met on that course. His attention to detail is excellent, the way he sees the game and analyses the game is very similar to myself.
“Probably his major strength is how he’s going to improve the players individually. He’s really big on individual development, challenging people to be better and helping that process. I’m really pleased we’re bringing him into our staff.
“We had to let Paul Gallagher go and we wish him all the best. He was a really good coach for us last season and I enjoyed working with him but things change in football and we’re ready to get going and hopefully improve next year.”