Hours after the death of his Mother, Pulis arrived at the Britannia Stadium to inspire his side to a dramatic turn around. His return gave everybody at the ground a boost and no doubt pushed them on to victory.
Potters assistant manager admits the arrival of Pulis was a surprise: “”That’s Tony, he’s passionate about his football club,” He told Sky Sports.
“He’s had a very sad day, but he wanted to get here and he wanted to be part of it. We are glad he did because he’s the manager of this football club and we wanted him here.
“He’s a great manager. He’s done fantastic here. We have got the result we wanted, so we are all pleased.”
Pulis has certainly endeared himself to me with his actions tonight and I hazard a guess that the Stoke manager’s actions will have seen a lot more warm to him. Often criticised for his tactics one thing you could never criticise Pulis for was a lack of commitment, and that has only been reinforced further after tonight.
Unfortunately the criticism over Pulis’ method will always remain, and no doubt I will be the first to lambast Stoke for their physical long-ball game in the future. But right now I have nothing but admiration for Pulis and would like to this opportunity to pass on my condolences to Pulis and his family during this difficult time.
