Premier League manager of the year Tony Pulis takes his Crystal Palace side into the season on a cloud of optimism.

After taking over from sacked Ian Holloway last season, Pulis steered Palace clear of relegation where they comfortably finished in 11th place.

Things ended badly for the Welshman at Stoke due to his inability to progress the side’s playing style but what you see is what you get with a Tony Pulis side, they are difficult to beat and play direct football.

One of the first things he did with his Palace side last season was plug the huge hole in a defence which was conceding goals for fun and once again this year, Palace will defend first and attack later.

For many promoted teams, the second season is a lot harder than the first as the rest of the league are no longer surprised by team’s style of football.

But this shouldn’t be the case with Palace, as under Pulis Palace already look like an established top division side and fans expect the side to comfortably stay up this season.

Jason Puncheon and Yannick Bolaise will be expected to pick up from where they left off last season, especially Puncheon, and provide the team with the flair and creativity to keep the club away from the bottom three.

Marouane Chamakh will be asked to improve on last season’s goal tally while the young Chris Gayle may feature more after finishing last season strongly.

Not to mention Glenn Murray, who was instrumental to the team while they were in the Championship, is fully fit and has a keen eye for goal, which could be very useful coming off the bench.

The arrival of Frazier Campbell will ease the burden placed on the strikers, with the former Manchester United and Cardiff striker capable of bagging 10 or more goals this season.

Another great addition to the club is Brede Hangeland. The tough-tackling defender arrived from relegated Fulham and will add a bit more steel in the backline. If Pulis can have him playing like he did a few seasons ago, when he was heavily linked with a move to Arsenal, then he has an amazing defender on his hands.

Keeping hold of captain Mile Jedinak will provide that grit and determination in the middle of the park while goalkeeper Julian Speroni signing a new deal was a great piece of the business by the club.

Pulis has learnt from his mistakes at Stoke and while Palace may not be one of the most exciting teams to watch in the league over the next 10 months, they are a lot more attacking than people give them credit.

But what are the side’s ambitions this season?

Is simply staying up enough for the board or do they want the manager to improve on last season’s mid-table finish and push on into the top half?

Potters fans turned on Pulis towards the end of his reign at the club, growing disillusioned with the style of football and wanted the club to aim higher but for now it seems those at Selhurst Park are enjoying life in the most competitive league in the world and don’t want to change anything that could damage their status in the league.

They kick off the season away to Arsenal but fans shouldn’t fear the Gunners. The 3-3 draw against Liverpool at the back-end of last season showed that they are more than capable of taking on the top teams in the division.

In September they take on two of the promoted sides in Burnley and Leicester, both at Selhurst Park, so the fixture list has been relatively kind to them.

If they can get off to a quick start, Crystal Pulis FC should have nothing to worry about.

Opening Fixtures

Aug 16 Arsenal A

Aug 23 West Ham H

Aug 30 Newcastle A

Sep 13 Burnley H

Sep 20 Everton A

Sep 28 Leicester H