TONY Pulis has spent the last week immersing himself in Teesside life. Chief Sports Writer Scott Wilson spoke to the Middlesbrough boss about what he discovered ahead of this evening's play-off semi-final first leg with Aston Villa

THE journey from Middlesbrough to Saltburn encompasses Teesside’s polarised extremes. From the industrial heartlands of Newhaven, Teesport and Wilton to the breathtaking coastal vistas as you skirt around Marske, all of Teesside life is on view. A journey through centuries of heritage, distilled into a dozen-or-so miles.

On Thursday, to escape the madness of play-off semi-final week, Tony Pulis joined the rest of his coaching staff on a cycle ride to the coast. Sitting on the seafront, eating fish and chips, the pressures of the two biggest games of Middlesbrough’s season would have been banished to the back of his mind had it not been for the constant reminders of what the next four days mean.

Every sight he passed delivered an insight into the Teesside identity. Gritty, hard-working and proud thanks to the legacy of industrial growth; wild, distinct and untamed thanks to the natural beauty that encroaches on Middlesbrough itself.

And there, at the heart of the journey, stood the town’s football club. Physically, in terms of the Riverside Stadium, but also emotionally in terms of the role the clubs plays in binding the disparate parts of Teesside together.

Every time Pulis stopped, someone would come forward to wish him all the best for Boro’s two-legged play-off semi-final against Aston Villa. It made for a lengthy afternoon, but it was also the best possible preparation for this evening’s first leg.

“It was brilliant,” said the Middlesbrough manager, who sees powerful parallels between his new home and the Newport district of Pillgwenlly that turned him into the man he is today. “It was nice to see the industrial side of things. We came back behind the stadium, and it was nice to see that side of the town.

“It’s enjoyable for me. It’s a wonderful area. People have a perception about everybody and everything in this country, and they look at Middlesbrough as just this working-class town. Well, there’s some unbelievable areas around here, whether you’re down on the coastline or whether you’re inland.

“Some of the scenery is just fabulous, and it’s lovely to go round and speak to normal people. Sometimes, at a football club, you can be in a bit of a bubble. No disrespect to the people here, but it was nice to speak to people who haven’t got an angle. They’re just working-class people who want their team to do well.

“There were cars tooting as they were going past us, wishing us all the best, and when we got down there, there were a lot of young kids who were really excited to get pictures and things like that. It was really good, and this is what we want. It’s what we want as an area, and it’s what we want as a football club.

“We need everybody in this area to get behind us. It’s their team. It’s their team, and it’s our opportunity, so let’s make sure we don’t leave anything behind.”

Pulis gets Middlesbrough. He understands the outsider status that drives the town on and the football club’s role in moulding an identity that Teessiders can be proud of.

That pride took a dent when Boro were relegated from the Premier League last season, and for much of the current campaign, it looked as though redemption in the form of promotion was unlikely.

Garry Monk bequeathed a team that was sitting in eighth position when he was dismissed a couple of days before Christmas, and while there had been glimpses of cohesion under Pulis’ predecessor, it was hard to discern a definitive identity or style.

That has changed in the last five months, and while Pulis might continue to claim his work is still at a formative stage, the vastly-experienced boss has quickly moulded a team that is comfortable in its own skin. Each and every player knows exactly what they are doing; each and every player knows how their individual strengths contribute to the collective whole.

“Since I’ve been here, I’ve looked, as I’ve always done at every club I’ve gone in to, at the strengths of the players,” said Pulis. “Then we put a system in place that suits those players.

“Sometimes, you go to clubs and they can’t play winning football through the pitch because there’s too much risk, and they lose games. Then there’s other teams that can play football, and this team can play football through the pitch, and that’s what we’ve done.

“We’ve played some smashing football through the pitch because (Mo) Besic, (Jonny) Howson, Adama (Traore) and (Stewart) Downing are all excellent footballers. They can handle the ball and you can move the ball through tight areas. There’s other clubs I’ve gone to where there hasn’t been that type of player so we’ve played in a different way and with a different system. It’s all about the players that you’ve got.”

Those players have propelled Boro into the play-offs, and provided their manager with an opportunity to make up for one of the few disappointments in a predominantly successful career.

Since taking his first steps into management 16 years ago, Pulis has only been involved in one play-off campaign, but it culminated in the only game that can run Sunderland’s remarkable defeat to Charlton Athletic close in the battle to be named as the most memorable play-off final.

In 1999, Pulis led out his Gillingham side at Wembley as they took on Manchester City in the culmination of the play-off campaign in what is now League One. With ten minutes left, the score was goalless. With three minutes to play, Gillingham were leading 2-0. But after Kevin Horlock scored in the 90th minute, Paul Dickov grabbed a remarkable equaliser in the fifth minute of stoppage time.

City won the subsequent penalty shoot-out 3-1, and embarked on a climb through the leagues that has culminated in them winning three Premier League titles. Pulis was crestfallen, and left Gillingham shortly after his side’s defeat.

“My previous experience of the play-offs? Next question,” joked the Boro boss. “To be fair, they’re actually good memories right up until the last blinking two minutes. The fates were certainly with Man City that day.

“We absolutely played them off the park and it could have been three or four. It was 2-0, then Horlock scores a goal, then Dickov scores a late one. And then we get beat by penalties in a game that Man City were never in. That was one of my biggest disappointments - not so much for myself, but for my players because that group of players at Priestfield were fabulous.”

He has already formed a strong bond with the group playing under him at Middlesbrough, and while he has great respect for Steve Bruce and the squad he has assembled at Aston Villa, Boro head into this evening’s game under a strong head of steam.

“We have to be positive,” said Pulis. “All four teams (in the play-offs) will be positive. The important thing is to make sure we understand the challenge ahead and the players respond in the right manner. We have to play with no inhibitions and make sure we give it our best shot. We don’t want to come off the park feeling we’ve left anything behind.”