Tony Pulis believes he will never surpass the success he enjoyed at Crystal Palace last season, when he engineered a remarkable turnaround that saw the team climb from bottom of the table in November to a final position of 11th and culminated in the Welshman being named Premier League manager of the year.
Speaking before his first return to Selhurst Park since leaving in August, the West Bromwich Albion head coach said he had only fond memories of his time with Palace, in particular the scenes at the end of their 3-3 draw with Liverpool in their final home game of last season; Pulis said he had never experienced anything like it in 23 years of management.
The 57-year-old was not prepared, however, to go into the reasons behind his departure fewer than 48 hours before the start of the season. Although Palace described the decision as “mutual consent” at the time, Pulis’s relationship with Steve Parish, the co-chairman, had deteriorated over time and there was believed to be a difference of opinion over transfer targets and the club’s wider vision.
Asked whether he walked or was pushed, Pulis replied: “I’ve had a great 10 months there but it’s none of your business. What happens to myself and an individual happens between me and him. I’m not going to talk behind people’s backs.”
Pulis added: “I had decided to speak to the chairman about certain situations. It was difficult but you have to make decisions and I made the decision to have a chat with Steve and sort a few things out and that’s the way it went.
“It is not a club you walk away from and say: ‘Oh my God, I hope I never go back there.’ What really mattered was them staying in the Premier League. It’s a good football club with unbelievable potential. The supporters deserved it. To finish 11th was fantastic and something that everybody at the football club could be proud of.”
Pulis denied his business was unfinished at Selhurst Park. “No, the business there was always to try to keep them in the Premier League and from there they would have a base to move on again. The club made an enormous amount of money last year finishing 11th. They got an extra £10m on top of the money they would have made. They needed to stay up that year to have the money to invest, which they have done this year, to make sure the squad is stronger. They’ve spent £30m this season on players to add to a squad that finished 11th last year. Is it any surprise they are doing well now? No, not at all.”
Palace picked up 38 points from 26 games under Pulis’s control in a season that he ranks as his finest in management. “Stoke will always sit with me as the main job because of the time I spent there,” said Pulis, whose Albion side travel to Palace on Saturday after four defeats in their past five league matches. “As ashort-term job that I found myself in at Palace – I don’t think I will ever better what went on there.
“I sat in the stands and watched them at Hull when they had, I think, four points from 11 games. It was always going to be a massive task there. Great credit to not just the players, but the support also.”The Liverpool home match, Pulis said, would be the highlight of his time at Palace. Trailing 3-0 with 11 minutes remaining, Palace salvaged a point through two goals from Dwight Gayle and another from Damien Delaney. “The game itself was an extraordinary game and a game that will stay with me, but what will stay with me longer is actually the reception after the game,” Pulis said. “To wait for 25 minutes and not have one person leave the ground, and the reception they gave the players walking around the pitch was something to behold. I’ve never heard that before in any job.
“I have been very fortunate to win promotion from the Championship to the Premier League and all the way through, going to Wembley and winning a semi-final 5-0, but that reception at Palace that night was different. It’s an old ground and the stand was actually shaking, it was that good. It was wonderful.”
