In an exclusive interview with BoyleSports , legendary former Premier League and Football League manager Tony Pulis discusses how fan support can be the catalyst for success.
Pulis also leans into his managerial experience talking about the importance of tactical adaptability and managerial grit and gives his thoughts on whether Mark Robins is the man to turn Stoke City’s fortunes.
Portsmouth's Potential
John Mousinho will be the first to say that the fans at Fratton Park are just extraordinary, I’ve talked about Crystal Palace having great supporters and the atmosphere being great – if you go to Fratton Park the stadium actually rocks, it actually moves.
The fans are very important to that team and very, very important to John. If they get behind you and they have done this year, I've been to a couple of games, it's just been absolutely fantastic.
It's a great football club and they've got an advantage with that ground because that ground is really tight, really on top of people and it can be intimidating. It'll be interesting to see if they've got any money to invest but he's done a great job over the past couple of years. He's done a fantastic job there.
Eustace Tactical Brilliance With Derby
John Eustace took a massive gamble, leaving Blackburn and then going to Derby. Blackburn were in the playoffs and Derby were cut adrift in some ways. To turn it round like he did, he deserves so much credit. He's a tough lad mentally. He knows what he wants and he's very organized.
He works very hard in respect to the quality of players he's got. Some people have said that he's been a little bit negative and he's been a little bit direct.
Football for me is about getting the best out of your team, realising and recognising the strengths of the group that you've got, not trying to ask them to do stuff that they can't do but to recognise what they can do to get you results.
He's proved that at Blackburn, they played some really, really good football at Blackburn and he got him into the top six. Then he went to Derby. It was a tough, tough call and I don't think anybody expected him to get out, but he did it and he did it in a way that helped the players.
He looked at the structure, he looked at the quality of the players, he looked at the group and he found a way for that group to win. If you ask any of the Derby supporters, and there were over 30,000 turning up every week at the back end of last season, what they think of John and what he has done, they will say he’s done exceptionally.
Bringing Stability and Success to Stoke
The important thing for Stoke is getting stability and with Mark Robins, hopefully they’ve got it. They've got a manager who is sensible enough to understand what the club needs, how they need to go forward and what they need to go forward.
They need to stick behind it, and they build from there. I think next year will be a better year for them without a shadow of a doubt. Whether they'll have enough to get in the top six or not, I'm not sure. Obviously, the deals they have to do this summer will decide that. But that club's just waiting to take off.
We've been saying it for a long time now and next year will be the same. The expectations from the supporters will hopefully be a better season where they can finish in the top half of the top 10 of the league. If they do that, I think Mark's had a great season.
“Hardworking” Walters
I saw Jon Walters the other week at the pro licence down in Wales. Jon is a great lad. He is a really, really top guy. a Very honest, hardworking lad, who will give everything he possibly can for that football club. He's in a new role and he's learning as he goes along.
I think the biggest thing for Jon is to get as close as he possibly can to the manager in that gap between the board or the people who run the football club and the manager – it’s very, very important there.
I think Jon has to pull that all together and keep everybody on the same line. If you're picking someone who's got the character to do that, then you'd pick no one better than Jon.
Plymouth’s Key Decision
I had seven months down in Plymouth and I really enjoyed it. It is a fabulous club. The support down there is phenomenal, especially the away support, it's frightening. They nearly stayed up and it was really disappointing to see them drop down because I thought that if they stayed up, it'd give them a chance to get a foothold in the Championship and then push on from there.
I hope they sit down, and they pick a manager who will understand what the third division is about. Get themselves organized, get themselves well set up. They need to clear all the negativity of being relegated and start again. Plymouth have always had a great record at home and not so great away from home, so whoever goes in there will have to understand that.
The chairman's done a wonderful job there. The stadium is fantastic. They tell me the training ground now is very, very good. Having been there, I have a real soft spot for it. “I just hope and pray that they do get back into the Championship because they are and can be a really, really big and well-supported club down there.
Wilshere For Plymouth?
What happens today is that managers are floated for jobs and then you get a reaction on the internet from the supporters of that club – the next thing you know the club has moved on from that name.
Russell Martin was floated at Leicester and there was negativity from supporters, next thing they are looking at other names.
It’s like clubs are putting names out there and finding out what the response from the supporters is. So it's a completely different world that we live in and it's a completely different situation when it comes to the recruitment of coaches and managers.
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