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Joe Allen has offered encouragement to the next manager of Stoke City by stressing that he will seriously consider remaining at the club despite relegation.

The new managerial appointment, which the club hopes to have in place by the end of this week, will want to make Allen’s future one of his first priorities.

And Allen admits he will be open to persuasion after saying: “Of course I will consider it. If I’m honest, it’s a summer when you don’t know what’s going to happen.

“But if the club wants me to stay to help it get up, then it’s certainly something I will consider.”

But the popular Welsh international, whose early years were spent in the second tier, warns the club and its new manager that players of substance must be attracted to cope with the demands of the Championship.

Allen, probably the club’s player-of-the-year had there been a vote, says next season’s squad must be able to handle the Championship’s arguably greater competitive spirit and an extra eight league fixtures.

(Image: Getty)

“I think there will be differences,” he cautions, “and it will be new to a lot of players who haven’t had the experience of playing there and they will have to learn fast.

“From a recruitment point of view, they are going to have to have an eye on that league, what we need to perform and get results at that level.

“I think there’s obviously going to be change. Every summer there’s in and outs, but maybe there will be more than your average season this year.

“People have spoken a lot about maybe the strength of this club in the Premier League over the last decade and we need to get some strong characters and personalities in, and obviously some good footballers, and that will be the biggest task this year.”

Stoke’s hierarchy will soon begin drawing up a managerial shortlist to replace Paul Lambert that could include the likes of Slaven Bilic, Gary Rowett, Sam Allardyce, David Moyes, Nigel Pearson and Mick McCarthy, while the name of the jobless Quique Sanchez Flores has also re-appeared following January’s failure to lure him from Espanol.

Allen, who started all but two of Stoke’s 38 league games, insists players like himself will hurt for a long time after suffering the indignity of relegation following a decade in the top flight for Stoke.

“It’s what we all dreaded really,” said Allen. “We weren’t expected to be in this position, but unfortunately we haven’t been good enough to keep ourselves in the league and it will hurt for a while.

(Image: Leanne Bagnall)

“The job now is to get back up, hopefully straight away, and put this season behind us.”

Meanwhile, Allen is currently recuperating from the foot injury he aggravated during the sprints before Stoke's final-day game at Swansea and which forced him off in the opening minutes.

He has subsequently sat out a trip to California with Wales for a friendly there against Mexico on May 28.