SIR STANLEY Matthews Day will also be a special occasion for Tony Pulis when Stoke City take on Blackburn Rovers at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday.

While the Club will be celebrating the lifetime and achievements of Sir Stan, Pulis will be taking charge of the Potters for the 300th time against Rovers.

And the Potters boss admitted: "I certainly wish I could have Sir Stan in my side tomorrow. It's a great weekend for everybody and it would be wonderful to think that we could mark it by getting the right result in what will be a very difficult game for us.

"Sir Stan is synonymous with Stoke City because he was an incredible player and he also did a lot of great work around the city at the end of his career."

In looking at his own landmark, Pulis said: "I am very proud to be manager of this Football Club and it's fantastic to be able to say I have got to 300 games. Both spells have been different, but they have both been enjoyable in their own respect.

"There is still a massive job to be done and the most important thing is that we stay in the Premier League. As I have said many times before, once we have spent three years at this level we will have a base on which we can then push on.

"It's a great club, it's a tough club to manage, but I wouldn't want it any other way and it would be wonderful to think I am still here in another 300 games time. For now though, the important thing is getting a result tomorrow."

He added: "We need to give Blackburn the utmost respect because they have considerable experience at this level and experience of fighting year after year to retain Premier League status so we know that it is going to be a tough game.

"They know what it's like, they understand what it takes to stay in this League and in Sam Allardyce they have a manager who has done a done a great job in the top flight for many years at Bolton Wanderers and now with Blackburn."

Pulis' 300-game landmark extends across two spells in charge at the Britannia Stadium and puts him sixth in the all-time list of Stoke managers.

He had a three year spell in charge at the Britannia Stadium between 2002 and 2005 and then returned to the job twelve months later.

Having guided City to promotion to the Premier League, it is not surprising that the highlights of the 299 matches so far are the day that City clinched promotion to the Premier League and some of their memorable triumphs in the top flight.

Pulis has some way to go, however, if he is to move further up the table and become one of the longest serving managers in the Club's history.

Tony Waddington leads the way on 764 games from his 17 years in charge, while Tom Mather clocked up 523 matches in his 12-year reign.