Stoke City manager Tony Pulis believes the club must spend lavishly in the summer if it is to avoid relegation from the Premier League next season.

The Potters secured their promotion from the Championship to the top flight following Sunday's 0-0 draw against Leicester City.

And in a bid to avoid a repeat of Derby County's rotten 2007/08 term, Pulis believes chairman Peter Coates might be forced to break the club's transfer spending records.

"The financial rewards would give us a chance, if we are clever enough. It's about good players and about having the resources," he said in The Sun.

"It's knowing where the players are but we'll have to spend more money than this club has ever dreamed of spending before."

Midfielder Liam Lawrence has echoed his boss' thoughts, urging the club to invest when the transfer window reopens.

"We know it is going to be very tough and to be honest we've got to spend a lot of money in the summer.

"We know some people will consider us cannon fodder and will expect us to go straight back down and you can see where they are coming from.

"Next season is going to be unbelievably hard - we know that. But we are going to be men about it. We will be favourites to come straight back down along with whoever wins the play-offs."

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