July 18 2014

Tony Pulis

Crystal Palace boss Tony Pulis says his time spent in Brazil for the World Cup was a vital learning experience.

The manager scouted players and studied the training methods of various countries at the finals while in South America working for BBC Radio.

And Palace fans could even see a player from the global tournament come to Selhurst Park after Pulis revealed he had his eye on a number of targets.

"From watching how teams trained to seeing how they set up tactically, I learned a lot from my time in Brazil and it was a trip I will never forget," he said.

"Plenty of players caught my eye too, although I did not go to the World Cup expecting to discover any amazing new talents. There just aren't any unknown gems at major tournaments anymore.

"There were not many surprises left for us at the World Cup, but of course we still wanted to take a look at teams and players in Brazil.

"We nailed it down from back home beforehand in terms of who we were watching - individual players we had already been recommended, or those we were looking at closely for the first time.

"It was not my job to do any of that in Brazil - Palace had scouts to do it for me - but it was nice to be out there, and I still did my homework.

"Before I flew out there, I got a book from the BBC with detailed analysis and information on every player in the tournament. Everything at this level that can help us is worth using."

Pulis was happy that Mile Jedinak's Australia exited the competition at the group stages so the midfielder can get some much-needed rest ahead of a gruelling new Premier League season.

"Mile made history when he scored a penalty against the Netherlands in their group match, becoming the first Crystal Place player to score at a World Cup finals, and I am absolutely delighted for him," he said.

"I had texted him before the game to wish him luck. He was disappointed when they lost and failed to get out of Group B but I don't feel sorry for him because it meant he could have a nice rest before the new Premier League season starts.

"So, being selfish, from Crystal Palace's point of view, Australia failing to get out of their group was the best thing that could have happened for us."