Rowett convinced Championship will benefit Berahino

Berahino was one of the most sought-after talents in English football when he signed for the 'Potters', but when Stoke kick off their Championship season on Sunday against Leeds it will be 890 days since his last competitive goal. 

In that time he has missed multiple penalties, and was banished by Paul Lambert towards the end of Stoke's campaign last season - one that saw them relegated from the Premier League. 

However, Rowett is hoping the new division could lead to turning over a new leaf. 

“Saido has been really good so far. I think he’s worked incredibly hard and has been as fit as people at the club have ever seen him,” Rowett said.

“We know he is a goal scorer but he is a goal scorer that hasn’t scored goals for the past couple of seasons. I think for us really it’s to see whether we can reinvigorate that but we are also mindful we cannot rely on that because that would be foolish.

"He is trying his hardest to get his career back on track and we’re trying our hardest to see if we can help him to do that, and we’ll see where that goes.

“I had a good conversation with him when he first came in. I think sometimes that honesty and that openness of the conversation [helps]. We said to him, ‘Listen: We will view you the same as everyone else. You have to work hard, you have to do certain things and commit like the rest of the group, and then it will be down to your performances, it’s as simple as that.’

"If he is a striker that scores goals, it won’t matter what he has done in the past. He will be a valuable asset to us.”