Tony Pulis' record of never being relegated will be severely put to the test as he takes Stoke City into the Barclays Premier League for the first time.

Pulis guided the Potters back to England's elite league after an absence of 23 years when they finished as Championship runners-up last season.

He had ambitions of becoming a manager from a young age, when at 19, Pulis got his FA coaching badge, then two years later obtained his UEFA A Licence.

He was one of the youngest players to obtain his coaching badges during his playing days with Bristol Rovers, AFC Bournemouth and Gillingham.

Like many players keen to get into management, Pulis became a player-coach during his second spell at Bournemouth.

Harry Redknapp appointed him as his assistant and Pulis replaced went on to replace him as manager when Redknapp departed for West Ham United in 1992.

After two seasons with the Cherries, Pulis went back to another of his old clubs, this time Gillingham.

In his first season at Preistfield, Pulis steered the Gills to runners-up in the old Third Division and automatic promotion. Not bad considering the previous season, Gillingham were five points off dropping out of the Football League.

He established Gillingham in the old Second Division with midtable finishes over the following two campaigns.

In his fourth and final season at the club, Pulis took the Gills to the play-off final where they faced Manchester City. Two goals up with just two minutes left, they were on course to seal a place in the old First Division. But two last-gasp City goals levelled the scores to bring extra-time and they lost the penalty shoot-out.

Pulis was dismissed from his post at Gillingham and took up the reins at Bristol City ahead of the 1999/00 campaign. He did not stay long at Ashton Gate and was on his way to become manager of Portsmouth six months later.

He did not have the best of times during his stint with Pompey and was replaced by Steve Claridge 10 months later.

A period of two years out of work came to end when Pulis took charge of Stoke City after Steve Cotterill was sacked in November 2002. Stoke were at the foot of the table for much of the campaign but Pulis ensured they avoided relegation on the final day of the season.

Things improved in 2003/04 as the Potters ended up in 11th and then 12th the year after before he was sacked in June 2005.

A few months later, Pulis was in the hotseat at Plymouth Argyle and spent a season there, leading them to 14th position in the Championship.

He returned to Stoke in June 2006 and a number of inspired signings led to an excellent campaign. Danny Higginbotham, Ricardo Fuller and Vincent Pericard came in, along with loan signings Lee Hendrie, Andy Griffin and Rory Delap.

The Manager of the Month award for April was won by Pulis and Stoke had a late surge for the play-offs but just missed out, finishing in eighth.

However, 2007/08 was to be Pulis' season. Although Higginbotham left for Sunderland, Pulis brought in fine additions to freshen up his side and they had one of their best-ever seasons, finishing as Championship runners-up on the last day of the season to secure promotion to the top flight.