This is Staffordshire --TONY Pulis has been inter-railing across Europe this week to see how various continental clubs operate behind the scenes.
The Stoke boss has visited four different clubs in two different countries during his trawl across central Europe.
He says the current break from first-team action gave him time to check out the approach, philosophies and facilities at several different European clubs.
"You are never too old to stop learning," he said, "and this was an excellent chance for me to see how clubs are run on the footballing side.
"Not just the first team, but right down to the juniors. You can never learn too much.
"I'd rather not say exactly where I have been, but I haven't needed my sun glasses because it's been cold.
"Hopefully it has been well worth the effort of getting around Europe and picking up different things."
Pulis studied Italian coaching methods when his playing career was interrupted by injury.
He has also used his few periods out of management to travel abroad and watch coaching sessions in Europe and America.
"I've often said we live in a bubble in football," he continued, "and sometimes you need to break out of that when you can to go and see how others are doing things.
"I'm not saying I'm going to come back with totally different methods, but you learn things."
Pulis returns to work today after giving his players a break because it was an FA Cup weekend, with Stoke having been knocked out by Manchester City in the previous round.
"The break is to re-charge their batteries mentally as much as anything else," explained Pulis.
STOKE midfielder Matthew Lund scored on his Southend debut, after joining on loan, in a 2-1 defeat by Northampton.
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