Stoke City have filled their vacant hot seat by hiring Steven Schumacher, the manager of Championship rivals Plymouth Argyle.
Schumacher, who led the Devon side to the League One title last season, leaves Home Park with the club in 16th position, three places ahead of Stoke, who recently sacked Alex Neil.
The 39-year-old has signed a three-and-a-half-year deal and will be followed to Stoke by his assistant head coach Mark Hughes, first-team coach Peter Cavanagh and goalkeeper coach Darren Behcet.
“The values that resonate with me for a Stoke City team are bravery and hard work, coupled with a desire to play attacking football and be a team our supporters can connect with,” said Schumacher.
After the news was confirmed, the Argyle chairman Simon Hallett said: “We are naturally sorry to lose a manager of Steven’s potential, but he has decided to take a new role that he sees as the next step in his career. Work is already under way to find a suitable replacement to lead this great football club forward.
“We have made great strides over the last few years in ensuring that we have an organisation and a football philosophy that can withstand a change in personnel. The result has been a style of football that I and all fans have enjoyed watching, and which will continue. I would like to thank Steven for his hard work, dedication, and success during his time with Argyle and I’m sorry that he won’t be with us as we work to deliver our new mission.”
Stoke are without a win in eight matches and have made Schumacher, who spent two seasons at Plymouth, their sixth permanent manager since 2018. His first match will be the visit of Millwall on Saturday.
Plymouth, who host Birmingham on Saturday, said the director of football Neil Dewsnip and first-team coach Kevin Nancekivell would take temporary charge.
