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Tony Pulis announces his retirement from management

  /  autty

Former Stoke, Crystal Palace and West Brom boss Tony Pulis has announced his retirement from management.

The 65-year-old's last job at Sheffield Wednesday in 2020 lasted just 10 games and he hasn't been in the dug-out since.

Pulis dropped the announcement while a guest on Sky Sports News' transfer deadline day coverage, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family and playing golf.

'I'm 65 now. I had a really good run at it, management has passed me by now,' Pulis said.

'I'm quite happy to help people, quite happy to give a little bit of advice here and there.

'I've always based my home down in Bournemouth. I had three wonderful children and never spent enough time with them but I've got seven grandchildren now.

'It's lovely to see them and be able to go out and watch the boys play football, and we have two in America and we visit them as much as possible.

'I play a bit of golf here and there, nice and relaxed.'

Pulis ended his playing career at Bournemouth and was promoted to become their manager when Harry Redknapp left for Premier League club West Ham in 1992.

He moved on to Gillingham in 1995, turning the fourth-tier club from the very bottom of the Football League to a promotion-winning one in his first season.

Pulis almost led the Gills into what was then Division One (now the Championship) but they blew a two-goal lead late on to lose on penalties to Manchester City in the play-off final, which resulted in his sacking.

Brief spells with Bristol City and Portsmouth led Pulis to Stoke City for the first time, helping them avoid relegation on the final day of the 2002-03 season.

The Welshman moved on to Plymouth but would return to Stoke in the summer of 2006 and led them into the top-flight for the first time in 23 years in 2008.

He kept them in the Premier League despite only having a limited budget to work with and consolidated the Potters as a mid-table side.

In 2011, Stoke made the FA Cup final, where they lost 1-0 to Manchester City but qualified for the Europa League. They reached the last-32 of the competition, losing to Valencia.

Though Stoke finished 13th in the 2012-13 Premier League season, he lost his job as they hadn't made enough progress.

He replaced Ian Holloway at Crystal Palace a few months later and was named Premier League Manager of the Year after they achieved an 11th-place finish.

But he left Palace before the start of the 2014-15 campaign after claiming he wasn't being backed in the transfer market.

Pulis moved on to West Bromwich Albion, keeping them up in 2014-15 with wins over Chelsea and Man United and he surpassed 1,000 games in management in 2016.

But criticism over a perceived negative brand of football forced him out in November 2017 and Pulis moved to Championship club Middlesbrough.

Despite a run to the play-offs, where they lost to Aston Villa, in his first season, Boro didn't make the top six a second time and his contract wasn't extended.

His final job in management was at Sheffield Wednesday, where he again replaced Garry Monk. But he was sacked after securing just one win in 10 games.

Related: Stoke City