Following their FA Cup adventure to the final last May, Stoke City’s Europa League sojourn is gathering momentum with an attractive draw in the knockout stages against the Spaniards as reward for qualification from their group.
While Pulis recognises the fatigue factor of Uefa’s second-class trophy which has added the Manchester heavyweights to its competitors, he also knows his team have been equally galvanised, witnessed by a club record fourth successive victory in the Premier League secured by this win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
“Without a question of a doubt we were really tired coming back from the games in the early part of the season.
But the other thing no one talks about is it was fresh for us. The players were in their fourth season in the Premier League and were excited about European football.”
“It’s very difficult in respect of the travelling. I got in to bed about a quarter to five on Thursday morning. It takes it out of the players.
“Yet if you look at what we’ve done, not only have we qualified from a tough group but it was the travel as well. It’s a culmination of everything but we have managed to work through it. We will certainly enjoy the Valencia game, it’s a great game for us.
Tony Pulis explains the importance of the game as a milestone in clubs 150 years of existence and describes how making it this far in the European League and the FA Cup has affected recent poor performances. However, Stoke City are delighted to still remain in the tournament.
“I can tell you that our supporters will see some top, top players when Valencia come to town,” said the Stoke boss.
“We’ve had some great results in Europe this season, particularly at our place, but this opposition is a step up from what we’ve faced so far.
“It’s a big mountain we have to climb, but given our ground and our supporters, we still believe we’ve got a good chance against a great team.”
