TONY PULIS would love Stoke City to pull a couple of European giants out of the hat in Monaco tomorrow . . . after they booked their place in the draw for the Europa League Group Stages with an emphatic triumph over FC Thun.
Pulis was delighted with the way City swept aside the Swiss Super League leaders with a 4-1 win on Thursday evening that made it four Europa League victories in as many games and propelled them to the next stage of the competition.
Three goals in the space of 13 first half minutes put the issue beyond all doubt as Matthew Upson marked his home debut by breaking the deadlock before Kenwyne Jones and Glenn Whelan stunned FC Thun with futher goals. Jones added a fourth in the closing stages before Thun gained a consolation effort to leave the aggregate score 5-1 over two legs.
"It would be absolutely fantastic if we got two big clubs in the draw," proclaimed Pulis. "We would all relish the chance to bring some big clubs to the Britannia Stadium and it would reward the fans for the way they've helped us.
"They've played a big part in getting us where we are now, they've enjoyed this European adventure so far and they deserve the chance now to experience what it would be like to have big European nights here in the next stage.
"This place will be rocking if we play some big clubs and I know the players who have embraced this new challenge are looking forward to that chance. This is all something very new, very fresh and we're enjoying every minute of it."
Pulis expressed his satisfaction with the way that his players dealt with what could easily have been a banana skin on the night.
"This was a difficult game for us because we had everything to lose and nothing to gain after the excellent result in the first leg," he said. "It was important we didn't give them a route back into the tie, but our attitude was first class.
"That's been the case in each of the ties so far. We had two tough games against Hajduk Split, especially the game out there in such an intimidating atmosphere, and this was always going to be a big test for us as well.
"They're top of their league and a team below them have knocked out Celtic. So that shows how well our players have done."
He added: "The good thing about getting those three goals in quick succession was that we were able to rest one or two players in the second half ahead of Sunday because that will be a tough game, and I mean a tough game."
Thun coach Bernard Challandes offered his congratulations to the Potters after seeing his side fail to reproduce their League form in Europe despite their excellent start to the season which sees them currently top of the table.
"I would like to wish Stoke City the best of luck, they deserved the victory," he said. "We have learned a lesson in what the Premier League is all about. We paid the price because we couldn't find a solution to their style of play."
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