Stoke City boss reveals stance on major play-off shake-up proposal - Stoke-on-Trent Live

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Mark Robins has given his backing to a proposal to extend the Championship play-offs to a further two teams.

The EFL is considering an idea to add an eliminator round to the end-of-season shoot-out for promotion in a format similar to one which has been used by the National League.

The teams who finish in seventh and eighth take on the teams in sixth and fifth respectively in one-off ties at the higher-placed side's home to set up two-legged ties for the winners against the teams who finish in third and fourth. The winners of those would then meet at Wembley.

The concept was presented to rivals by Preston North End chief executive Peter Ridsdale and has reportedly been well received. Changes to the competition would need approval from the FA Board and Premier League. There has not yet been a vote at EFL level.

Stoke have been involved in the play-offs on five occasions, including once at Championship level when, ironically, they were beaten by a Leicester City squad featuring Robins back in 1995/96. They won promotion from the third tier via the play-offs in 2002.

They have finished no higher than 14th since re-joining this division in 2018 but Robins reached the play-off final with Coventry in 2023, losing to Luton on penalties.

He said: "I'm all for it, let's do it! I think it could be a good thing because it keeps everything alive with games. It gives everyone a different feel around things. I think it would be a really good thing, the level of games would go up for longer and no dead rubbers really until the last kick.

"The format of that will be as it will be and I think it will be really interesting. I think there's going to be the same format as the National League where you play one game and then go into the play-off as it was, third and fourth, in the semi-finals and then the final.

"It extends the season for a lot more teams. If you can put a run together and get into that... I'm going to say top 10, top eight, whatever they decide, it will be really good for the Championship."

Stoke currently sit second in the Championship after winning four of their opening five games. They take on Queens Park Rangers away this weekend.

Do you agree with Robins? Click HERE to join the debate

While you're here, we have launched a new WhatsApp group to deliver the latest Stoke news directly to your phone. Click on this link, select 'Join Chat' and you're in. If for some reason you decide you no longer want to be in our community, you can leave at any time by clicking on the name at the top of your screen and clicking 'Exit Group', simple as that.

Every day, the StokeonTrentLive football desk strive to deliver news, features and transfer-related stories as a part of our overall package of Stoke City content.

Our dedicated reporter Pete Smith - who you can follow on X by clicking here - follows Stoke home and away and offers you comprehensive coverage from matchdays, press conferences and everything that happens in between.

With so much going on, we send out a daily free Stoke City newsletter which you can sign up for - and means you'll have a round-up of the key stories land in your email inbox. Sign up to the Potters newsletter here .