Stoke manager Tony Pulis has hit back at the critics who have dismissed his promotion-chasing side as long-ball merchants.Pulis has steered the Potters up to second place in the Championship, but while they are unquestionably a physically big and powerful outfit, the Stoke manager insists he has some "top players" in his side.

Pulis said: "It doesn't make any difference to me what others say.

"All I know is that we've scored more goals than anyone except West Brom and we have people like Ricardo Fuller who's a tremendous footballer.

"We also have players like Liam Lawrence and Andy Griffin, who are top, top players."

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