Tony Pulis reveals the advice he received from Sir Alex Fergusonpublished at 14:40 22 March
Stoke City's former manager Tony Pulis has opened up on the advice that he received from Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson after he got the club promoted to the Premier League in May 2008.
“When we got promoted at Stoke, I called Sir Alex Ferguson up. He told me:
‘Your best chance is making the Britannia a place no-one wants to go. If any of the top teams go there and praise you, you’re not doing it right. If you’ve got the best players in the world, then building from the back is fine, but the majority of teams don’t.
'The bottom line is football is about winning and if you don’t win football matches you aren’t going to be in the job very long. You need to find out what your strengths are and play to them. Don’t worry about what others do.'
“I never forgot what he said, and as a result we narrowed the pitch in, grew the grass and brought Rory Delap into play. We found a way to win and it worked.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been at a football stadium where the crowd and team were so together – we used to play the top teams and the place used to light up.”