With Stoke City having now spent six seasons in the Championship, former manager Tony Pulis has admitted that he feels sorry for the Coates family during a recent interview with TalkSPORT, due to the club so far failing to return to the Premier League.
“They were held back a little bit with fair play and finances in the previous two years, that was cleared and then they brought in 17 players, 17, 18, it might even be more than that. John [Coates] has backed the manager to bring in players, John and the director of football, whatever his name is. They’ve brought those players in, the manager and the sporting director.
“It must be difficult for the family at the moment. They are a very, very wealthy family obviously but they turn around, they give managers, time after time, the amount of money that they’ve got and the option and the chance to change it and it just doesn’t happen. It must be very frustrating.
When asked about a potential return, he added: “No, I’m not. We were down on the beach yesterday and it’s just wonderful. I love my sport, I went to Twickenham on Saturday, I watch football as much as I can and golf. I’ve had my go and it’s been absolutely fantastic and I appreciate everything football has done for me.”
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