Stoke City boss Mark Robins said he does not want to dampen down expectations fans might have this season and believes "anything is possible" heading into a new campaign. The Potters embark on their ninth attempt to return to the Premier League since they dropped out of it in 2018 and have invested heavily on and off the field in a bid to significantly improve on last term's 17th place. "I think the Championship looks really strong," Robins told BBC Radio Stoke in the build-up to Saturday's opener at Swansea City. "It remains to be seen, but on paper it's really strong. Teams are spending, teams have got different capabilities now and you've got to keep up with that, you've got to try to surpass that. "It remains to be seen what we can do, and where we can be, but there's no dampening any expectation. We're part of it. Anything's possible at this stage." Stoke started last season strongly before their campaign was ultimately ruined by persistent injuries across the squad and Robins has previously highlighted the importance of the revamped medical department under Damian Roden. Robins is confident players will be available and "at the right level to perform" during the season and has underlined the importance of trying to enjoy it. "That's the job really in amongst all of the stuff that goes on around it, which is the white noise," he said. "But we just focus on what we do and remembering why you do it because you love it - and also other people love it and they want to come and watch you because they've got that excitement for anything's possible. "So we've got to do that. We've got to, at this stage, reach for the stars." Johansson 'epitomises everything good' Robins has also explained his thinking behind replacing Ben Wilmot as captain with goalkeeper Viktor Johansson. "This isn't something being taken away from him [Wilmot]. The reason I gave him that was to try and give him some confidence in terms of his communication and leadership which he's taken on and you can see there's a difference," he said. "I thought Ben had done really well in the circumstances last season and captained us to a really good start. "Viktor is somebody who epitomises everything that's good. This isn't a criticism of Ben by any stretch. "Viktor's somebody who is vocal in the dressing room, he's vocal in meetings and demonstrates the sort of characteristics that you want from a captain of Stoke City."
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