Tony Pulis delighted with his players as Crystal Palace beat GAK Graz 13-1

Crystal Palace manager Tony Pulis was delighted with his team’s approach during the 13-1 victory over GAK Graz.

Pulis believes the squad’s hard work paid off, as they have been taking three training sessions a day ahead of the game with Austrian minnows.

“It wasn’t really about the result – it was about the players putting in the effort,” Pulis said on the club’s official website.

“The lads worked hard this morning, they’ve worked hard for a week, so they’ll have been pleased to get the ball out and get playing football again.

“They’ve worked hard this week – their attitude and approach to the work that we’ve put in front of them has been absolutely first class, so it’s nice that they’ve gone out there and not messed around.

“They’ve got their heads down and they’ve done it properly, which you’d expect from this group.

“The longer the game went on, the more Graz were going to get stretched. We understand that our lads are physically very, very fit and that showed tonight.

“The longer the game went on the more opportunities and chances we got.”

Pulis believes the rout will give the Palace squad plenty of confidence going into the upcoming tour to the USA, which begins on Sunday when the Eagles fly to Columbus. 

“We’ll have three tough games over there,” Pulis said.

“The conditions will be very difficult as well – it will be very hot and very humid, so again I won’t be too worried about results, just giving the players 90 minutes and getting that fitness into them as much as anything else.”

The south Londoners will conclude their pre-season preparations with a final friendly against German side FC Augsburg at the SGL Arena on Saturday August 9.