David Prutton says Stoke City's players are performing nowhere near to the standards they are capable of.
Bristol City make the trip to the Potteries on Saturday to face a Stoke City side currently sat bottom of the Championship.
Nathan Jones has so far struggled as Stoke manager since joining from Luton Town last season, and finds himself under huge pressure ahead of the visit of the Robins.
Sky Pundit, and former Leeds United star, Prutton has given a damning assessment of Stoke's performances so far this season.
He told the website Football League World : “I think the next couple of games are vital. Any team that’s struggling either goes into the international break making a managerial change or looking to give the current manager time to sort something out.
“Their start to the season has been nowhere near what he would have wanted. You look at the names in that squad and how they’ve performed in games at key times, and they are nowhere near it, absolutely nowhere near it.
“They are a group of players that are well-known at this level, some are even better known in the Premier League, and it won’t have been cheap to assemble a squad like that.”
While Prutton wants to see Jones given more time, he says the players need to give more for their manager.
“You want a young coach like Jones to be given a decent crack of the whip and a decent amount of time to implement his style, but he has been there for a long time now and he has got his work cut out.
“Whenever you speak to him, you understand the intensity of the man and the commitment that he shows for 25 hours a day trying to make Stoke a better place.
“As long as the players work at the same tilt and with the same intensity and commitment, their quality should show through.”
