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Wednesday 24 August 2011

Pulis "Won't break the bank"


Pulis says there is "no question" that his squad needs further strengthening before next week's transfer deadline, but he would rather miss out on deals than force the club into upping their wage structure.

Jonathan Woodgate and Matthew Upson - both of whom were previously free agents - remain the only new arrivals at the Britannia Stadium this summer.

Pulis revealed that he recently missed out on a signing at the last minute, but he is willing to accept knockbacks if players are unwilling to sign on Stoke's terms. Pulis is, however, still hopeful of adding up to five new players before the deadline.

"I think everybody knows we have to bring players in - I don't think there is any question from the top of the football club right down," Pulis said.

"Even the youngest supporters will be looking and saying, 'Why haven't we brought players in?'.

"But it is about making sure we do it the way we do it as a football club - that is very important for us.

"We'll do our business the way we do - we will be open and honest with the clubs we are dealing with, and once we've done those deals, we'll let you all know. We are hoping to bring some in if we can.

"We've got a wage structure that we want to keep to. We miss out on deals, and we have to be big enough to accept that.

"If supporters get a little bit disappointed with it, then so be it - it won't be the first time we've missed out on deals because we've said no."

Stoke have the demands of a Europa League campaign to deal with this season, with at least six more fixtures in the competition guaranteed for them if they emerge victorious from their play-off tie against FC Thun to qualify for the group stage.

The Potters go into the second leg at home on Thursday night with a 1-0 advantage from last week's initial meeting in Switzerland.

It is the scoreline by which they have won all three of their games in the tournament so far, and Pulis feels Stoke's commitment to playing in Europe is clear.

Asked if he really wanted to get into the Europa League group stage, Pulis said: "Have a look at the results - we are unbeaten in three games and have picked strong teams for all of them. That should answer your question."

Upson made his Stoke debut in the contest against Thun last week and is looking to force his way into the reckoning for the Potters' Premier League matches.

"I want to play as many games as I can," Upson said.

"I've had a bit of a slow start in terms of what my pre-season consisted of.

"I worked pretty hard by myself but I haven't the minutes on the pitch that you would get in pre-season friendlies together with the squad.

"But I'm pleased with what shape I am in."

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