Save up for Valencia trip, urges Stoke boss Tony Pulis

Pulis guided Stoke to second place in Group E of the Europa League

Manager Tony Pulis has asked as many Stoke City fans as possible to travel to the away leg of their Europa League tie against Spanish giants Valencia.

The Potters play the second leg at the Mestalla on 23 February.

"Everybody's feeling the squeeze at the moment, Christmas is coming, but after that they've got eight or nine weeks to save up," Pulis told BBC Radio Stoke.

"Let's take as many as we can and show them what a proper English club is like when their supporters travel."

After defeating Hajduk Split and FC Thun in the qualifying rounds, Stoke came through a difficult group and guaranteed a place in the knockout stages with a game to spare.

The 3-1 loss in Turkey against Besiktas is the Potters' only defeat in 10 matches in the Europa League so far this season.

Stoke will be at home in the first leg of their tie against the former UEFA Cup winners and Champions League finalists, although Pulis believes playing at the Britannia Stadium first could work to his side's advantage.

"It gives us a great chance to see what they're all about," added Pulis, who guided his side to a fourth consecutive Premier League victory at Wolves on Saturday.

"Hopefully, if we can get a result, we can go over there and dig in. We're good at digging in."