Former Lincoln City player Mark Sertori has joined Stoke City’s revamped medical and performance department as the Championship club looks to improve player availability and fitness levels.
Sertori, who was part of the Imps side that won the GMVC title in 1987/88, has arrived at Clayton Wood with an extensive background in elite football. He has previously worked with the England national team, spent a long period at Manchester City during Pep Guardiola’s reign and was most recently director of performance at Roma.
His appointment forms part of a major restructuring behind the scenes at Stoke following the return of Damian Roden as head of medical and performance. Former Manchester United head of performance Matt Radcliffe has also joined the club, with the Potters attempting to address the injury problems that disrupted their previous campaign.
Sertori’s career has taken him a long way from the Lincoln City side that returned the club to the Football League in 1988. The Manchester-born player arrived at Sincil Bank from Stockport County in 1987, initially operating as a forward before later establishing himself as a defender.
He made his Imps debut in a 4-2 defeat at Barnet in August 1987 and went on to make 28 league appearances during his first season, scoring six times as Colin Murphy’s side won the Conference championship.
Crucially, he scored the opening goal of the game in our 2-0 win against Wycombe Wanderers, which saw us return to the Football League at the first attempt. Carlo, as he was nicknamed, remained with City until 1990, making 78 league appearances and scoring 15 goals before moving to Wrexham.
His playing career also included spells with Bury, Scunthorpe United, Halifax Town, York City, Shrewsbury Town and Cheltenham Town, along with several clubs in non-league football. He retired in 2003 to concentrate on a new career in sports therapy after completing a Professional Footballers’ Association-funded course.
Sertori subsequently joined Bolton Wanderers as a sports therapist and masseur before following Sam Allardyce to Newcastle United. He later worked with Manchester City and became part of England’s backroom staff, including at the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2016.
Stoke manager Mark Robins believes the club needed to change its approach after a difficult season and has praised the experience brought into the department.
“I’m not going to go into what we’re doing differently but you can’t keep doing the same things,” said Robins.
“On the back of a really disappointing campaign last year something had to change and the sports science-medical department has changed. That department I really like how it’s working. They’re the brains. They’ve been to university and have all the degrees and they’ve worked for 25 or 30 years in senior men’s football and the Premier League as well.”
The Potters have also invested more than £10 million in a new first-team training building, while their pre-season programme has been shaped around ensuring players can sustain their fitness throughout the campaign rather than simply peaking for the opening weekend.
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