Tony Pulis will be reunited with his old employers this afternoon when Stoke City visit Selhurst Park.

The Crystal Palace boss spent 10 years at the Britannia stadium in two stints, before being leaving in May last year.

Despite the importance of the fixture, with Palace bottom of the Premier League, Pulis took time out to recall his time in the Potteries.

“It’s lovely to have Stoke coming down this weekend, I had a fantastic 10 years there and I have wonderful memories of the club,” he said.

“It is nice looking back to when we, in as me and my staff, went there. I was talking to [David] Kemp the other day about the Gerry Taggarts and the Dave Brammers who we first started with.

“Some of the players there don’t get the credit they deserve, I don’t think people realise we were one game away from being relegated to the Third Division in that first season I was there.

“We had to get a result against Reading and they were in the play-offs, Alan Pardew was their manager, and we managed to beat them 1-0.

“That kept us in the Championship. If that had happened, I would not be here talking about it.”

He added: “They are honest people at Stoke, and if the fans want to give me some stick today, that’s fine, nothing will affect my fond feelings for the area.”