On Thursday night, the Potters became the first English side to book their place in the last 32 of the Europa League with a 1-1 draw against Dynamo Kiev, taking their record in the competition to seven wins and two draws from nine games. The travelling has certainly had a detrimental effect on their domestic form, with Stoke having lost their last four away games, all of which have followed European matches. The most disappointing performance came after the trip to face Maccabi Tel Aviv last month, when they were thrashed 5-0 by Bolton, and Pulis knows they will need to put in a much better showing to get anything at Everton on Sunday. However, the Welshman was also keen to stress how far the club have come since promotion to the Premier League in 2008. He said: "It's important we put a performance in at Everton. It will be tough because they're on a good run at the moment. "But we mustn't get too greedy. We've got to keep our feet on the ground. At times (Thursday night) one or two of the supporters were getting restless. "We need to remind them and remind everybody where we've come from, and in such a short space of time. "Yes you want to win and you want your team to win, but we're doing things this football club has never done before. We've got to keep putting things into perspective, stop the bus now and then and look around and smell the roses." A repeat of Thursday night's result in their final group game against Besiktas in Istanbul in a fortnight's time would ensure Stoke stay top of the group. That would be an impressive achievement for a team who had never won a European tie before this season, but for Pulis it is already mission accomplished. He said: "You want to finish top of the group but we've qualified. "No one gave us a chance of qualifying with Besiktas and Kiev and we've proved everybody wrong again. We've done that for a few years now." Kenwyne Jones scored the crucial goal nine minutes from time after a Matthew Upson own goal had put Kiev ahead in the first half, but it was Asmir Begovic who preserved a point with a stunning save in the final moments. The Bosnian had been a virtual spectator in the second half before diving full length to keep out Andriy Yarmolenko's effort with virtually the last kick of the game. Begovic has recently lost his place in the Premier League to Thomas Sorensen, and Pulis said: "I'm pleased for Asmir. "He's had a bit of criticism for the performances he's put in in the defeats we've had, but he's a top goalkeeper and that'll do his confidence a lot of good. "Thomas has done well so far but it's good competition." One of the biggest cheers of the night greeted the arrival of Ricardo Fuller, who is working his way back to fitness after seven months out with a ruptured Achilles tendon. "Ric is miles off being fit but he lifts the crowd, he lifts the players," Pulis added. "He got involved in the first couple of minutes, had about four touches, ran about 30 yards and he was blowing." Pulis made eight changes for Thursday night's game from the side that beat Blackburn last weekend and most of the players he rested are likely to come back in, although Andy Wilkinson (knee and calf) remains a doubt.
