Tony Pulis has no regrets ahead of Selhurst Park return

Pulis is back at his former club eight months after walking out on the Eagles on the eve of the new Premier League season.

And he heads back to south London adamant he had no unfinished business despite being unable to build on last season's survival mission.

"The business there was always to try to keep them in the Premier League and from there they would have a base to move on again," said Pulis.

"The club made an enormous amount of money last year finishing 11th.

"They got an extra £10m from finishing 11th on top of the money they would have made.

"It was one of the smallest budgets in the league.

"You have then got the base to build again and that's what Palace needed.

"They needed to stay up that year to have the money to invest, which they have done this year, to make sure the squad is stronger.

"They have brought in some good players and the squad is stronger."

Pulis' disagreement with chairman Parish led to a shock departure just weeks after he had led the club to Premier League safety.

And the Welshman, who is now looking to repeat the trick with the Baggies, still rates his spell at Palace as the best of his long career in management.

"I had decided to speak to the chairman about certain situations," he said.

"It was difficult but you have to make decisions and I made the decision to have a chat with Steve Parish and sort a few things out and that's the way it went.

"It is not a club you walk away from and say 'oh my god, I hope I never go back there'.

"Stoke will always sit with me as my main job because of the time I spent there," said Pulis.

"But as a short-term job that I found myself in at Palace, I don't think I will ever better what went on there.

"I sat in the stands and watched them at Hull when they had, I think, four points from 11 games.

"It was always going to be a massive task there.

"Great credit goes to not just the players, but the supporters also.

"I don't want to talk about what went on and didn't go on (with Parish).

"What really mattered was them staying in the Premier League.

"It's a good football club with unbelievable potential. The supporters deserved it.

"To finish 11th was fantastic and something that everybody at the football club could be proud of.

"We spent just under £3m in that term and brought in people like Scott Dann, Joe Ledley, Wayne Hennessey, Tom Ince - they were important signings for us.

"They really worked and gelled.

"The surprise this season was that they struggled initially.

"Alan Pardew has gone in there and unravelled a few things, got them playing very similarly to the way we played and asked them to play to their strengths.

"When you do that with that group you will get results.

"Add to that the fact they have spent £30m on the squad that finished 11th last season.

"That's a good squad. Add to that the fact that Chamakh, Bolasie and Jedinak haven't played all season because they've been away and Jedinak has been suspended for four or five games.

"The club have missed players that I couldn't have missed last year but now they can because it's a good squad."