Sheffield Wednesday boss Tony Pulis out to keep extraordinary record against 'very strong' former club Stoke City

Tony Pulis makes no secret of his love of a football club he spent seven years turning from Championship also-rans to Europa League contenders.
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Speaking ahead of the visit of the Potters, the new Sheffield Wednesday boss described his admiration for the Stoke City’s owners – his former employers – and admitted games against the Staffordshire club will never be ‘just another match’ for him.

But make no mistake, the Welshman is out to get his first win as Owls manager this afternoon. And it would be a feeling he’s experienced a few times.

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Because in 11 matches against Stoke, nine arriving after his departure from the club in 2013, Tony Pulis has never lost, winning on seven occasions and all by a single goal.

Owls Manager Tony Pulis has an excellent record against his former club Stoke. Pic Steve Ellis.Owls Manager Tony Pulis has an excellent record against his former club Stoke. Pic Steve Ellis.
Owls Manager Tony Pulis has an excellent record against his former club Stoke. Pic Steve Ellis.

A repeat display this afternoon will be a tough order, he admitted, while praising the job done by his successor Michael O’Neill.

“When you spend nearly 10 years in that area you build up a lot of friendships,” Pulis said. “We had a great time off the pitch, never mind on the pitch. It was fabulous.

“They’re there or thereabouts and you’d expect them to be. They’ve got a very strong squad and the manager is quite happy to chop and change.

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“He’s settled the club down. There is a growing expectation that they could be in with a very, very good shout of being in the top six.

“It’s going to be a tough game that’s for sure.

“They’re a big, strong side, they know what they’re doing and they’ve got a good manager. They seem to be turning in the right direction.”

The Owls boss spoke passionately after Wednesday evening’s draw with Swansea on a fixture schedule that effectively gives Stoke twice as much recovery time heading into the Hillsborough clash.

Pulis said the EFL ‘need to look at it’, adding that he felt it gave some teams too much of an advantage.

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“These people don’t seem to understand that to get from Sheffield to Swansea takes quite a long time and it messes things up,” he said.

“Yesterday was a complete day of recovery. Today we allowed them to sleep in and not report until midday and we’ll spend most of the time laid in the treatment room doing a recovery session.”

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