Stoke annoyed by lack of pulling power

Tony Pulis says Stoke's unfashionable image is frustrating him in his bid to sign better quality players.

The club was last week rebuffed by Spurs striker Darren Bent, who stated on his Twitter blog that he was not interested in a move to the Potteries.

Pulis has refused to confirm reports that Stoke have made a club record £15m bid for Bent, but said: "We are in the best league in the world and it is hard for us to sign players.

"We finished 12th last season, and if we want to do better than that then we need to bring in a certain type of player.

"It is causing problems, because we must go to a shelf higher, and those type of players are seeing us as perhaps not as attractive as other clubs."