Tony Pulis column: 'You have to convince players your way will work'

As everyone at the bottom of the Premier League is finding out now, managing in difficult situations is not easy.

At this stage of the season, with only a handful of games to go, the pressure is on and the stakes are enormous.

Your mindset is as important as your tactics, because you have to convince everyone involved at the sharp end that your way, and only your way, is going to give the team its best chance of staying up.

When I was a manager, I believed organising and motivating players was one of my strengths.

To do that, and align every player to attaining a result at the end of each week, you have to be rock solid in your own methods and recognise good leaders lead well in these difficult moments, when players need support more than ever.

I am proud of the fact I never took a team down in my time as a manager and I hope most of the players I worked with would vouch for the fact that they were left in no doubt what was expected of them individually and collectively as a team.

On and off the pitch, there were no grey areas when we were fighting for our lives.

Every game was analysed and every point counted. A collective spirit right through the dressing room was required, where honesty and hard work for your team-mates was imperative.

Whatever the circumstances, my teams played forward - and ran forward - so we could get the ball to our most talented players, who were always our forwards.

Off the ball, we had switches to either press teams or drop off, and again everyone from front to back worked tirelessly to regain possession.

We always relied on our quality up top, but even those lads would sacrifice themselves off the ball, and in many ways they led the spirit we needed to achieve results - and stay up.

Most pundits are convinced that Wolves and Burnley are down, and they would both need something spectacular to stay up from here.

Burnley conceded the fewest goals in the Championship last season, but this season they have the worst defensive record in the Premier League. Wolves have improved under Rob Edwards, but I believe they have got too much to do.

That leaves four other teams in my view - West Ham, Tottenham, Nottingham Forest and Leeds - trying to avoid the final relegation spot.

So, how do I think this will unravel, and what would I suggest these clubs try to avoid finishing 18th?

For starters, home form is absolutely vital and an extra emphasis must be directed at your club's supporters on this single point.

I can recall an early conversation with Sir Alex Ferguson in my first season in the Premier League with Stoke City.

His assessment was that our slim chances of survival would be determined by our home form, or in his words 'you are not going to get many points away from the Britannia Stadium'.

He told me our best chance of staying up was making it a place no-one wants to go. He said that if any of the top teams go there and praise you, you're not doing it right. I took that on board and I don't think I've ever been at a football stadium where the crowd and the team were so together.

It helped us that a gambling company paid punters up who had bet on us going down after our first game of the season, a 3-1 defeat at Bolton.

I responded by positioning their assumptions as a direct affront to not only the football club but the city as well.

From that moment onwards, clubs turned up at our stadium and faced a team which was 30,000 strong, and which no doubt played an enormous part in us successfully staying up that season.

It was a remarkable achievement, but only made possible because of our supporters. One great example of that was at the Brit against an emerging Manchester City side at the end of January.

We went into that game without a win in nine league games and in the relegation zone, and went down to 10 men in the first half but then scored just before half-time.

In the second half, whatever we did, every tackle, pass or interception was greeted with unbelievable acclaim from the stands. We went on to win 1-0 and afterwards I was asked about my tactics, to which I remember saying no team could have beaten 30,000 of us today, because that's what it felt like.

That game was the start of a run of four wins and two draws at home, which took us to safety by the end of April.

But as much as a positive atmosphere can get you over the line, if the fans are not behind you then playing at home won't help you - it can hinder the players instead.

I've written before about how I saw the January transfer window was crucial if you are fighting relegation, because doing good business can really change the fortunes of the team - the best example I had of that was with Crystal Palace in 2013-14.

For managers like Igor Tudor at Tottenham or Vitor Pereira at Forest, who have both been appointed after the window closed, they have not had the chance to identify what they are missing and bring players in. Instead they have to work with what they have got.

When I arrived at West Brom in January 2015, with the club a point above the relegation zone, the club had recruited badly and as a coach it was really difficult to work out a system that suited the lads.

I was able to bring in Darren Fletcher that month who, as I've said before, was the best signing I ever made, but my bonus was the strong characters I inherited at the back.

Jonas Olsson and Gareth McCauley were inspirational, Craig Dawson, Craig Gardner and Claudio Yacob gave everything and we had a top goalkeeper in Ben Foster. James Morrison and Chris Brunt added quality on the ball too.

I found that a 4-4-2 formation was our best way of being solid and compact. Saido Berahino and Ideye Brown were both happy to drop off and really make the team a team and with Saido hitting a rich vein of goalscoring form, we again stayed up and deservedly so - we passed the 40-point mark with three games to go and ended up nine points clear of the bottom three.

My point in mentioning that season, as well as the Palace one, is that we survived because we found a way to win that suited our best players - and, as I said at the beginning of this column, I convinced them that that system suited their strengths.

As I've mentioned in a previous column, clean sheets are crucial in the Premier League because they bring a higher average points return per game than scoring two goals.

They are even more precious when you are in a precarious position. All the teams at the bottom have a poor record of conceding goals and also scoring them, so being solid is your first aim when you arrive at a team in trouble, and being organised when you are out of possession is vital.

That can make it very difficult to manage expectation every Saturday, when supporters turn up to see teams win games, and also win them in style - especially West Ham and Spurs, who have great reputations of being clubs who play stylish football.

But it is the same for everyone down there, and you have to find a balance that works.

Forest and Leeds have been at this all season, but the difference is they have home crowds driving them forward - win, lose or draw.

West Ham and Spurs, both clubs who have won European trophies in the past few years, are definitely at a disadvantage here with their crowd's expectations. For the last home games of the season, can they put results over the quality of play they demand, and really get behind their teams?

Leeds are an interesting club to look at from that point of view. There were real rumblings about Daniel Farke's position earlier in the season, then things turned around for them with some encouraging performances.

Today, people are obsessed with statistics and teams are defined by them. Well, here are Leeds before and after they changed their style and shape and put less onus on possession.

It's interesting to see how Leeds adapted but will it prove conclusive in keeping them up?

One club I believe has done exceptionally well this season is Sunderland, who have never been involved in the struggle at the bottom.

They changed the whole face of their promotion-winning team, and recruited players with pace, power and lots of energy. Their crowd has been exceptional and really bought into the fact that they were favourites to go down, and have built on the reputation north-east fans have of being fantastic followers of their football clubs.

Their home form has been incredible - they were unbeaten at the Stadium of Light until February - and while on average they have scored less than a goal a game [Forest are the only team to score less], defensively they have been impressive too - only three teams, Arsenal, Manchester City and Everton have conceded fewer goals.

They are a great example of the points I've made of how to stay out, or get out, of trouble but the newer managers of the teams still fighting for survival have far less time to build an identity that everyone at the club believes in, which works.

A lot rests on each manager's decisions now, but my final point is that they also have to protect themselves in these pressure situations.

Managing yourself can be really difficult as, with all leaders, the weight of expectations rests on your shoulders and at times your inward vulnerability can be exposed.

It's tough, but managing that and dealing with it is the nature of a manager's job.

It makes you stronger and more resilient and, can I also say, more appreciative of friends and family around you who can lift you when you need it most.

Even pets can help too. One of my great mentors at Bristol Rovers, Bill Dodgin Snr, had three poodles at home who would make a real racket when he walked through the door.

Bill once said to me that, unlike humans, his dogs are always happy to see him - win, lose or draw. It is something every manager under pressure can relate to, I'm sure.

Tony Pulis was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.

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