Exclusive interview with Tony Pulis: Kieffer Moore would be a great signing for Wrexham, if Russell Martin does well at Rangers they’ll carry him around the city, Ruben Amorim has shown resolve at Man Utd, Darren Fletcher has picked up a lot from Sir Alex, Joao Pedro and Liam Delap can be a formidable partnership.
Speaking exclusively with BetVictor, legendary former Premier League boss Tony Pulis has given his thoughts on Wrexham and the promotion chase in the Championship. Pulis has also explained how Russell Martin can win over the fans at Rangers and why Ruben Amorim is showing resolve at Manchester United. The former Stoke City and West Brom boss has also tipped Darren Fletcher to have a bright career in management and tipped Joao Pedro and Liam Delap to form a partnership.
Q: Is Ruben Amorim right to stick to his system at Man Utd despite their struggles?
Tony Pulis: “Ruben Amorim was very successful abroad playing that way but he probably came into Manchester United and thought that he didn’t have the players to fit the system – but still carried on with it.
“This season, there will be a massive, massive focus on what he does and what he doesn’t do because he’s gone out and brought in players that he says will suit the system he wants to play. So it’s a really, really big season for him.
“If he’s got the right players in the right spots or the positions, then obviously I think they’ll have a better season than last year.
“It’s getting round pegs for round holes, that’s what he probably complained about most last year, the fact that he wanted to play a certain way and he didn’t have the players to really fit that system.
“He was criticised for not changing his tactics, now he has got the players he wants, let’s see how he does.”
Q: Could Ruben Amorim sticking to his system bring major silverware?
Pulis: “If you look at other managers as well, Pep Guardiola didn’t change last year despite not having the best of seasons in respect of what Man City have achieved over a long period of time, but he stayed faithful to what he believes in.
“You do get managers who are set on a system. They understand the system. They know the system works. It’s just getting the right people in the right slots then sticking with it.
“Ruben Amorim showed a lot of resolve last year and resilience in respect of the pressure he was put under. Let’s see how they go this year.”
Q: How good a managerial prospect is Darren Fletcher at Man Utd?
Pulis: “Darren Fletcher was one of the best captains, if not the best captain I ever worked with. He’s just an absolutely fantastic kid. He knows football inside out. He’s picked up a lot from Sir Alex Ferguson, I’m absolutely certain about that.
“The way Manchester United have run. I’ll be extremely disappointed if one day he doesn’t get the opportunity to show what he can do because he is not just a very, very good football man, but he’s a lovely lad as well. He’s got great principles.
“At West Brom, he was unbelievably first class for me. I think there’s a bright future. It’s gonna be really interesting to see how he copes with running a team. This will be the first time he’s run a team.
“He’s done all the background that you need to do in respect of being involved at football clubs at different levels. So he’s got that behind him as well. He just needs this final piece of the jigsaw when it comes to being a manager.
“He’s on the right pathway and who knows, he could be the next Manchester United manager. But I do think if he gets the right role, he will be very, very successful.”
Q: Arsenal have brought in Viktor Gyokeres, but just how different is the Portuguese league?
Pulis: “The Portuguese league is massively different. There are similarities to Holland, in that there are three or four really good teams, no disrespect to the others, but the big clubs have a much higher standard of players and more depth in their squads.
“Those teams end up finishing at the top comfortably and that’s what will change for Viktor Gyokeres, he is going to be playing against a level of team week in week out that he isn’t used to, at Arsenal.
“Mikel Arteta has been under enormous pressure to bring in a centre forward and there is a lot riding on it, but I was very impressed with Gyokeres at Coventry City.
“I thought he did fantastically well there and I was very, very surprised that a team from the lower level of the Premier League didn’t take a chance with him, didn’t take a punt on him.
“But he’s gone over there to Portugal and he’s done exceptionally well. Let’s see how he does.
“It’s a really, really interesting one next year because Arsenal will create lots of chances, Arteta has given him the chance – they are a fantastic football club but they are also desperate.
“A Premier League title would be unbelievable for them, it’s a big season for Mikel Arteta.”
Q: Is Chelsea’s signing of Joao Pedro bad news for Liam Delap?
Pulis: “Every time you pick the paper up you see that Chelsea have made another signing, but Joao Pedro is a really good signing and I don’t think Liam Delap has anything to worry about.
“They’re different types of players and they might compliment each other absolutely fantastically. Pedro could drop off into the pocket, he’s got enough ability to play as a 10, whereas Liam wants to run forward.
“Liam’s like an old fashioned centre forward, wants to run forward, wants to get in between the goals, desperate to score. If you watch him play, he picks that inside of that back post or just outside of that back post area when crosses are coming in and he makes great runs across the box.
“I think they could make a very formidable partnership. My big thing with Chelsea is, and I suppose they will justify it by selling the younger players through the academy. They have and have spent an enormous amount of money producing young players.
“If you have a look at the players around other football clubs that have actually come through the system and gone on to be really, really good, the question is, have they got a policy of producing players to sell them?
“They seem to sell these players then go out and buy other players, where’s the balance? Where and how do they find the balance of producing? Because there’s nothing better than having homegrown players on your team.
“People who have been with you right through the system, right through the academy, who’ve got attached to your football club and then get in the team. There’s a loyalty that is almost supporter based with those players.
“I look at Chelsea sometimes and it does frustrate me that some of these kids have not been given that opportunity. They all argue and say that they’re getting good prices for selling these kids and they’re getting bonuses for when the kids get sold.
“I’m sure they have a percentage of when they’re sold on, but it would be nice one day for Chelsea just to put a team together that has come through the academy – because their academy system is absolutely first class.”
Q: Is Dominic Calvert-Lewin in a good place when it comes to career options?
Pulis: “I think Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been very unfortunate with injuries, let’s put that straight. His injury record is not good but there’s no doubt he’s a talent.
“There’s no doubt as a type of centre forward, a certain type of centre forward, he’s very, very good and would be an asset for Premier League clubs. The big thing is keeping him fit. Is he going to play 38 games for you?
“Is he going to be there or available for 38 games? Whoever takes him, it’s a free transfer but his agent will make a couple of bob from him, I’m sure. But it’s just making sure he’s fit enough to play in at least 30 games next season.”
Q: How important will it be for Crystal Palace to keep hold of Eberechi Eze?
Pulis: “Crystal Palace supporters are just unbelievable. They’re fantastic supporters. They could build a bigger stadium there and be successful. They would get enormous crowds there, Palace.
“Their supporters, I think, deserve the club or deserve for Eberechi Eze to stay. They’ve supported them through quite a few years now in the Premier League. They’ve built up a very, very solid squad and a solid base.
“The manager’s done a really, really good job there. Again, he’s got a system that he sticks to that’s very, very difficult to play against. They’re counter-attack based and Eberechi Eze suits that system unbelievably well.
“You can give him the ball and he can actually do things by himself. He doesn’t need other players around him. He can beat people, he can score goals from different angles, from different positions. He’s a game changer.
“Game changers cost a lot of money. So whether Palace get the offer that they think is correct for him, I’d still be very, very, very disappointed if they sold him because they’ve got a chance in Europe.
“Am I disappointed that Palace have been dropped down to a league lower in Europe? They’re still in Europe and the supporters will have an unbelievable season travelling and supporting their club abroad.
“So I hope they keep their best players, they keep their best players for the supporters because the supporters can have a great season following the club in Europe and also through the Premier League.”
Q: Could Crystal Palace shock Liverpool in the Community Shield at Wembley?
Pulis: “Playing at Wembley is special and to have an opening game against the champions of England is absolutely fantastic. That’s another reason why I think the players who are there should give another year to the club, to let the triumph breathe and take stock.
“To enjoy it and really, really, really give as much as you possibly can to the supporters because the supporters have waited for years and years and years for Palace to get some success.
“I was only there for what was eight, nine months, but as a football club, the supporters are
everything at that football club.”
Q: Has Alexander Isak delivered a gut punch to Newcastle fans this summer?
Pulis: “The movement of players and the amount of money that people are paying for players now, it’s very, very difficult at times for myself to get my head around the prices that are being paid for these players.
“But the secret of it, and Newcastle know as well as other clubs, is to have the next one lined up ready to go. Alexander Isak had such a great season last year, he was, by far, the most potent striker in the Premier League.
“At Newcastle, which is a massive, massive club, you’re still going to get teams that he will see, and his agent will see, as bigger than Newcastle. The money will be enormous and everything else and the pull will be there for him to want to leave.
“So the secret is you either knuckle it down and say, no, you’re not going because you have three years on his contract. You’re going to see at least another season out.
“That gives us your chance then to bring someone else in to replace him. Or you keep him for one more season with European fixtures to come, which will be absolutely fantastic for Newcastle United.
“I’m disappointed again for Eddie Howe that the kid has come in, done so well, they’ve reached a level which other clubs have reached. There’s loads of clubs who haven’t ever reached Champions League football.
“They’re there, they’ve got the opportunity, the players have got the opportunity to experience it with an unbelievable football club, with unbelievable supporters.
“It just rocks my mind at times why these kids see it differently. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side of the fence. He’s another one that I would be very, very, very strong with and try to keep.
“Because once the deadline closes, once August finishes and the deadline closes, the kid then has an option. He either plays or he hangs around without playing and does himself no favours whatsoever.”
Q: Have you ever experienced a top player trying to force a move at a club?
Pulis: “We had a situation similar to Alexander Isak with Saido Berahino at West Brom.
“He was linked to Tottenham and that was left obviously to Jeremy Peace and to Daniel Levy. Jeremy was adamant that the boy wasn’t going to go. And unfortunately, Saido downed tools and played all these games that the lads play.
“When it all died down and it finished, he came back and his mind was miles away from where he was. He has looked an absolute outstanding talent and that episode curtailed what was a very, very promising career for Saido.
“So I’ve sat there and experienced it. You talk to him, you try to tell him what you think, but in the end they’ve got other people blowing in their ears. Some of them have got more than one agent and one person who were involved.
“It’s all to do with the people behind the scenes making money. You know, they’re desperate for the kid to move. They’re desperate for the fella to move on. But, this will continue to happen.
“As a manager, as an owner, it’s just about doing the right thing for the football club and if you feel as though you’ve lost him or whatever and the money is just extraordinarily high for the player, you have a decision to make.
“It’s the same with Yoane Wissa at Brentford. But these players have got to understand, where were they before the clubs took them? What were they doing before these clubs took them? And how well have they done within the structure of the football club?
“They have a responsibility and should have loyalty towards their club as well. It frustrates me, it really does, that you can get people pushing them out and pushing them out and pushing them out.
“Are they pushing them out for better reasons or are they pushing them out because financially they personally will benefit. I think the lads have got to understand and realize that the clubs that they’re with, the clubs they’re playing for, have given them so much.
“They’ve made them better players. They’ve pushed them forward and given them the opportunity and the chance to show their talents. I know Eddie Howe has looked after Isak, I’m sure he would have protected him when he needed protecting.
“I’m sure the club would have given them most of the things they’ve ever wanted and maybe that should mean he stays for another season.
“He could say, one day I want to move on, but it’s not going to be tomorrow when you haven’t prepared anything, you haven’t got anything sorted out.
“It is really difficult. But as I’ve said, I think the players have got to show a little bit more loyalty and they certainly need a wake-up call in respect of what the clubs have done for them, not what they’ve done for the football club.
“Don’t forget the football clubs are paying them. They are not paying the football clubs, the football clubs are paying them and paying them an enormous amount of money and that little bit of loyalty would be good to see.”
Q: Would Everton be the perfect destination for Jack Grealish this summer?
Pulis: “I read somewhere that David Moyes has been trying to get players in for a long time now and he might have to wait right up until the window closes.
“I’ve had younger managers speaking to me about certain things this week and it’s difficult. David’s at the top table, but you might have to wait for the scraps because no disrespect to Everton, but there are clubs who are spending absolute fortunes.
“Sunderland are among the highest spenders, Leeds have spent a fortune too, so you might have to wait for everything to calm down and die down and then go after one or two of the players that he fancies.
“But he does need, without a question of a doubt, I’m sure he needs reinforcements. I’m sure that he’s looking at the stadium and thinking, I want to get to that stadium and I want to be successful in that stadium, especially the first year.
“You’re doing pre-season, you’re trying to sort your team out for the first game of the season, you’re trying to make it better by bringing better players in, you’re trying to keep the better players that you’ve got.
“You’ve got the chairman saying the club could make an absolute fortune here, but you’ve got to balance that if you’re down in the lower half of the table, staying in the league and the money you receive for staying in the league. If you’re higher up, we want to get to Europe.
“We need that player to get into Europe. Look at what the benefits could be. So there’s lots and lots of stuff going on that people behind the scenes don’t see.”
Q: Would Kieffer Moore be a statement signing for Wrexham this summer?
Pulis: “Wrexham have moved up to a league now where every game is going to be really tough and the more quality they can bring in the better.
“Kieffer Moore has shown that he can lead the line, but he scores goals at that level. I think Phil Parkinson will understand that irrespective of what level you’re in, the differences between the teams at times will be both boxes.
“Whether you can keep the ball out, whether you can put the ball in the back of the net. So you need that backbone right through the middle of the pitch and you really need to have that solid to have a good season.
“He’s got a good record of scoring in that league so if they get him, I think it’s a really good signing.”
Q: Where might Michael Carrick’s next job be after leaving Middlesbrough?
Pulis: “Michael Carrick has dipped his toe in and it’s the first time he’s been sacked, if he’s going to be a proper manager, he’s going to experience that a few times. Don’t worry about that.
“The experience at Middlesbrough, obviously I know Steve Gibson and I know the football club very well, will be really, really helpful for him in lots and lots of ways.
“Being sacked the first time he’s felt that experience and I’m sure he’ll bounce back. I’m sure he’ll get a decent club and a decent opportunity and he hopefully will learn from all the experiences he’s had at Middlesbrough.
“I think as a younger manager, you have to bounce back. You have to be resilient and solid enough to see that maybe you could have done this or that better.
“That makes you stronger and better for the next job and then the next job after that.”
Q: Should Middlesbrough reject the Ipswich approach for Hayden Hackney?
Pulis: “Steve Gibson has run that football club and put his money into that football club year after year after year after year. I think the supporters respect what Steve has done, financially he has to balance it off. I think most clubs recognise that now with the fair play finances and all that. Steve will take a view on Hayden Hackney.
“Of course you want to keep your best players, but if someone comes in with an unbelievable offer, it gives you a good problem, really. A nice problem and a nice issue. I’m sure they’ll make the right decision.
“Steve will make and do what is right for Middlesbrough Football Club, both on and off the
pitch.”
Q: Is the arrival of Luka Modric and Snoop Dogg a good move for Swansea City?
Pulis: “Would I be pleased if someone like that came into a football club? Yeah, as long as they didn’t poke their nose in and start picking the team and picking the players and picking the tactics, it’d be no issues to me.
“I’ve met Luka Modric. What a wonderful, wonderful man. An absolutely fantastic player. Top, top player. And I mean a top, top player, but he’s a fantastic lad as well.
“Having Luka around would be unbelievable. Snoop Dogg, I don’t even know what he sings!”
Q: How would fans react to Gareth Bale’s involvement at Cardiff City?
Pulis: “The chairman, the owners of Cardiff have put an enormous amount of money in. They haven’t had the success that they would have craved and there’s all sorts of reasons why that is.
“People will point fingers at areas and all. But I think what you’ve got to say is that he has put an enormous amount of his own money into it and spent a hell of a lot of time trying to get it going in the right direction.
“It’s a club that’s very close to my heart. I would watch Newport and Cardiff, those two were the clubs for me. I always enjoyed going to what was then Ninian Park. So I hope they get it sorted out.
“Gareth Bale would be welcomed with open arms with a legend down in Wales and if they’ve got the finances to help the football club, then why not?
“Again, it’s a situation where you don’t mind these people coming in, you don’t mind these people bringing new investment in, bringing new ideas in.
“The thing that you don’t want and you don’t need is someone coming in and then poking their noses in and trying to sort the tactics out and doing this and doing that because that makes it just an absolutely ridiculous situation for the football club.
“Would it be popular with the supporters? 100%.”
Q: What would you make of Steven NZonzi going back to Stoke City?
Pulis: “Steven NZonzi is a top player. Never gave the ball away. He was a fabulous link player and a lovely lad as well. An absolutely fantastic lad.
“I think Mark Robins has made some good signings, so they could come in under the radar and they’ll definitely finish better than they had last year.
“I think that given the opportunity, the chance and the time over the next couple of years with Mark in charge, I think you’ll see progress there. It might not be jumping from the bottom to the top. Hopefully it is. But I think there’s progress.
“Progress will start this year and hopefully continue.”
Q: Can Birmingham fans have real hopes of back-to-back promotions?
Pulis: “It’s been fantastic at Birmingham recently. Craig Gardner has done an unbelievable job there. He’s actually worked very closely with the manager on bringing players in, trying to get the players the manager wanted, trying to get everything else sorted out.
“I think the owners, from what I can gather, really trust Craig, they really trust the process they’re going through. It’s brilliant.
“It’s a massive, massive city and it’s got lots of clubs there. West Brom, a fabulous club I’ve managed, you’ve got Wolves, you’ve got Aston Villa, and then you’ve got Birmingham.
“Birmingham fans were behind them having dropped down to the third division, now they have the investment and the opportunity to potentially get back into the Premier League.
“They are going to have a brand new stadium in four or five years’ time that’s going to be built in the city. I think they’ve nearly got all that sorted out. It sounds very, very exciting.
“Craig understands the Championship. He’ll understand that they’re not going to go and outplay every team this year. They’re going to have to be pretty resilient defensively as being fluid going forward.
“It’s a good test for the manager and a good test for the owners as well this year.”
Q: Is Frank Lampard under pressure at Coventry City this season?
Pulis: “Frank Lampard has built a rod for his own back almost because he’s got to do better than what he did last year which was incredible.
“Coventry City under first Mark Robins and now Frank have taken so many steps forward and it’s been fantastic to watch. It’ll be interesting this year because he’s starting fresh.
“I think the league will be a bit stronger this year. Wrexham obviously will spend and Birmingham will spend so I can’t honestly say that it’s going to be an easy ride, but they’ve got a good squad.
“They’ve got the squad and they’ve got the players who can go into any game and win any game. And that’s against the teams that have been relegated from the Premier League as well as teams that have been promoted.
“So they’ve got as good a chance as anyone else.”
Q: Will Kieran McKenna still be a target for Premier League clubs?
Pulis: “I think you’ve got to give people at Ipswich credit because they could have panicked with 10 games to go and the manager could have been sacked.
“There’s not a lot of managers who get relegated and keep their jobs. So they’ve obviously got a lot of faith in the kid. I think he’s got a fantastic squad there.
“Liam Delap is a big miss, he’s definitely going to be a big miss. But the lad George Hirst is a really, really good player.
“They’ve got players there who have proved that they can be very successful in the Championship so they’ll finish in the top three for me.
“Then it’s about what he learns then going back into the Premier League after a season again in the Championship.
“But they’ve sold all their tickets, Portman Road is a fabulous place to go to, especially when you’ve got a full crowd there.
“A great atmosphere, an old fashioned stadium right on top of you. So I’ll see them winning a lot of games at home again. Their away form obviously will be important to them, but yeah, they should have a good season.”
Q: Leicester City have gone for Martí Cifuentes over Steven Gerrard, is that the right call?
Pulis: “I don’t know what has been going on at Leicester over the last four or five years. They’ve gone from being at the top of the Premier League and being one of the most respected clubs in the country to dropping down year after year.
“I don’t know what the situation is with the owners and what their aims and ambitions are. It’s very, very difficult. It’s a fantastic football club. They’ve shown over a period of time that if they’re successful, they’ll fill that ground week after week after week.
“It’s a big season for them. A really big season. They’ve taken a punt with a foreign manager, but a lot of clubs now are going foreign and a lot of clubs in the Championship as well.
“It was really the Premier League that went for foreign managers at a time, but now the Championship also.
“A lot of foreign investment has come into football clubs and they’ll be talking to agents they know who will recommend managers that they know.
“There’s a process of this change massively in respect of English football.
“Steven Gerrard was mentioned as a candidate, he’s a fabulous football man, he deserves another opportunity, I think, to go in and have another crack.
“But he’s got to be careful, he’s got to pick the right club this time and if he does that and becomes successful again, with his name and his reputation as a player, he can push on.”
Q: Are you surprised that Aaron Ramsey left Cardiff to go and play in Mexico?
Pulis: “I was surprised because he was Cardiff through and through and kept slapping his hand on the Cardiff City badge. But he’s got his reasons.
“Do you jump ship or do you help the club recover? He’s decided he wants to go over there and play football and I think the reason being he wanted to play in the national team.
“But I still think if he was doing it at Cardiff, Criag Bellamy knows him better than anybody else and Bellamy would have him around, I’m sure would have him around, even if he was playing in the third division with Cardiff.
“So was it a surprise? Yeah, it was a little bit of a surprise because of all the talk of him being a big Cardiff City supporter, being this, being that, being everything else.”
Q: Can Kyogo Furuhashi have a big impact at Birmingham City?
Pulis: “If Birmingham can get Kyogo Furuhashi playing as well as he played at Celtic, then they’ve got a winner there. Without a question of a doubt.
“The supporters are going there every week and could become a real big fan favourite. Supporters want to see players who can do things.
“They want to see people at the top end of the pitch. can beat people, score goals. They get excited every week, they come in to watch those types of players.
“I don’t know if he’s lost any form or whatever physically, but it’s a great opportunity to see him play again in what is going to be such an open Championship next year.”
Q: Will we see Ange Postecoglou in the Premier League for his next job?
Pulis: “I think Ange Postecoglou was really well liked in his first year, then it was a bit of a struggle and maybe there were a lot of things going on behind the scenes.
“I’m sure his reputation would get him a job if he wanted a job back in England. I don’t think he was too enamoured with the press in the end. I think he was fighting them all the time.
“I think, very pleasing for him that he finished with Spurs winning the Europa League. That was, I think, two fingers up to a lot of people who were criticising him.”
Q: How big is the pressure on Russell Martin at Rangers?
Pulis: “Russell Martin has spent some money and brought some players in, but it’s just relentless up there for Celtic and Rangers, it’s just absolutely relentless.
“They’ve got to fill the back pages with something and they find stories, they’ve got to find stories to fill the papers. Russell’s been up there. He understands the competitiveness between the two clubs.
“Celtic supporters and Rangers supporters are just unbelievable and that is not just in Glasgow, that’s not just in Scotland or Great Britain. It’s all over the world.
“I always thought there was going to be a period where the two clubs would join the Premier League. For me, that would have been just extraordinary.
“I don’t think it happened because all the clubs down here would be worried about the pulling power that those clubs would have in respect of crowd and sponsorship and everything else. Not to take anything away from Scottish football.”
Q: Would Celtic be in the top six in the Premier League?
Pulis: “If Celtic got into the Premier League and they got the money that the Premier League clubs get and they had the opportunity, the investment, the following would be extraordinary.
“It would be absolutely unbelievable. Every club they went to in the Premier League, they’d have to give them one whole end because it’d be chaos getting tickets and getting in because they are so, so passionate.
“Massive, massive football clubs. Russell Martin knows what he’s taking on at Rangers. If it doesn’t go too well, it’s not going to be too long until he starts getting some flack. If they do well, they’ll carry him around the city.”
Q: What is your prediction for Bradford City vs Wycombe Wanderers?
Pulis: “Bradford City are going to have some tests so why not have one on the first day of the season against Wycombe.
“The enthusiasm there is huge, Bradford, it’ll be a massive crowd there, almost sold out, a club that could do and should do a lot better in respect of what they’ve got there.
“But these are exciting times for Bradford and I’d back them to have a good start.”
Q: What is your prediction for Plymouth Argyle vs Barnsley?
Pulis: “Obviously my loyalty there will be with Plymouth because I’ve managed down there and I know the area, I know the people. It’s a fantastic club and you’ve got the whole of Devon and Cornwall really supporting them, with Exeter as well.
“You’ve got yourself two clubs you’ll expect to be in the top six between Plymouth and Barnsley, so it’ll be interesting to see how they start.
“Plymouth have sold a couple of players so it’s not going to be easy, it looks like it’ll be a tough division this year.”
Q: What is your prediction for Lincoln City vs Reading and why?
Pulis: “Lincoln City have done well for a period and Reading finished really well last season so this will be interesting.
“They’ll both want to get a good start, but for these two it’ll be about where they sit after 15 games and taking stock to see how the season might pan out.
“Sometimes clubs fly out the blocks or they end really well, but usually after 15 games you can have a good reading and I think that will be the case here.”
Q: What is your prediction for Bristol Rovers vs Harrogate Town?
Pulis: “It’s disappointing to see my old club down there, so many players came through that club at one point to be internationals and playing in the top flight.
“It was such a well-run football club and had fabulous people there. Absolutely fantastic. You talk about mentors and I go on about mentoring and this, that and the other. But the mentors at that football club were extraordinary.
“It’s sad to see where they are now, but it’s a big city and if they could get going again, if they could just get the engine going again and do well this season then they can push on, the support there is unbelievably loyal.
“They’ve stuck with them through thick and thin and a lot more thinner than thicker at the moment. Hopefully they can have a great start to the season.”
Q: What is your prediction for Cambridge United vs Cheltenham Town?
Pulis: “I’d go for a draw, sometimes in pre-season you can win every game and then struggle on the first day of the season and also the other way around.
“As a manager I’ve gone through pre-season and had the best run ever and then started the season and got absolutely hammered.
“Other times I haven’t got any players in, my team’s not at the level I want it to be. We’ve lost every game and then we’ve gone away to one of the promotion favourites and beat them 4-0.
“I’ve sat in the dressing room afterwards and said to the lads, you know, you’re taking the mick out of me. You know, I’ve been worried to death for six weeks watching you run around and then we come to the game and you put in a performance like that.
“It’s amazing how things can turn out on that first game. This is the greatest country in the world for football. Well, I don’t care what anybody says, right from non-league football all the way through.
“The supporters will be absolutely desperate for it to start and desperate to watch their
teams. It is a tribal, tribal country when it comes to football and comes to your own teams.”
Q: What is your prediction for MK Dons vs Oldham Athletic?
Pulis: “Everybody I’ve spoken to has said that MK Dons are the team to beat in that league so they’ll be looking to back that up by having a good start and going from there.
“They’ll be looking for the opportunity to put a marker down and it helps that they are at home on the opening day.”
Q: What is your prediction for Colchester United vs Tranmere Rovers?
Pulis: “Colchester United vs Tranmere Rovers is interesting, we went to Colchester when I was at Stoke, the game before we got promoted, we had to play Leicester in the last game.
“We went to Colchester, I think we won 1-0. We were waiting for Hull’s result. We were told Hull were drawing and then Hull scored in the last minute, I think, to win. So it all went down to the last game.
“My memories of Tranmere are of Friday night football when John Aldridge was manager and they had a really, really good team. They were in the Championship then I think. And going up on a Friday with Bournemouth, Harry Redknapp was manager at the time and I was coaching. And I’d go across, Harry would go across and watch their games on a Friday night. Full houses, they had a really, really great atmosphere there on Friday.
“If we were playing in the North West on the Saturday, it was always one of the teams that you look for to see if they had a game on, because they’d always play Friday nights.
“I have memories of both clubs and I can see a draw in this game.”
