Managers thoughts ahead of seasons opener

Last updated : 11 August 2007 By Michael Morris

"You should have learned from your mistakes or tried to solve the lack of quality or depth that you had. If that's not the case, you haven't done your job.

"We've set ourselves goals, we've set ourselves targets and the players know where I stand. We'll be alongside everybody else who wants to get out of this division.

"There will be a few teams who want to consolidate and make sure they don't go out of it, the rest will all be trying to battle to do so. But it gets tougher every year.

"I've not checked, but I think there could be up to 16 teams in the division who have all been in the Premiership, that tells you how tough it is.

"We're going to give it a good go. We want to be up there fighting and scrapping because it's the best place to be. We know we're going to get the support, so let's have a right good go at it.

"Tony's (Pulis) aspirations now will be that he wants to get promoted as well.

"Every manager at the start is going to be under pressure from their chairman to go out there and say, 'Look, this is our season.'

"It doesn't matter if you've spent £5 or £5m, it is what is relevant to you as a football club.

"Tony had a good go last year, they nearly made the play-offs so they'll be expecting the play-offs this time around."


Speaking on behalf of the Stoke manager Tony Pulis was former W.B.A. boss Gary Megson. Megson has been helping ther club out as they prepared for the new season.

"They (Cardiff) have done very well and they have some players I had at West Brom, Riccy Scimeca and Darren Purse.

"They are two very good players, they have added even more to that this season like Robbie Fowler.

"He is a massive signing, it will be different for him and different for the club. Stoke will be going down there with all the focus on them.

"So it is a good thing really, there will be a big crowd there but Tony will have the players fired up to spoil the party."