Bolton Wanderers boss Gary Megson says he'll always be grateful to Tony Pulis for a coaching stint at Stoke City last year.

Megson's relationship with Stoke boss Pulis goes back to their teenage years, when the Whites boss pitched up at his dad Don's training sessions, at Bristol Rovers.

They have remained close friends ever since, and when Megson found himself out of work for several months following his departure from Nottingham Forest - and contemplating a summer of golf and DIY - that Pulis gave him a route back into the game at Stoke.

"Tony asked whether I could come and do pre-season with them," he explained to the Bolton News.

"I enjoyed it because he's got a terrific group of players there who work hard, are really honest and have a right good go. From that point, we started the season okay and I was given the Leicester job not long after that.

"He's a good manager, he knows his stuff. He has a phrase, although I think he's getting away from it, about 'glossy' managers and 'non-glossy managers'. He puts himself down as a non-glossy one, but he's getting shinier by the day, I think."

And it was while coaching in the Potteries that Megson became convinced of Stoke's promotion credentials.

"I'm not being wise after the event, but I thought that with the team Tony had put together they had a good chance," he recalled.

"They are big, they are really well-organised, they play to their strengths and they work their socks off. But it is sometimes overlooked that they have got some quality players.

"When I worked in the Championship with the Stoke squad, even though it was only pre-season, it was no surprise to see them up where they were."