Tony Pulis has never taken the easy jobs in football management. He was in charge at Bournemouth straight after Harry Redknapp had made a name there; he was in the hot seat at Bristol City after playing more than 100 games for bitter rivals Bristol Rovers. Now he is trying to keep unfashionable Stoke City in the Premier League.

But one of his toughest assignments was at penniless Gillingham in 1995. The Kent club were in the depths of the Football League, had gone into administration and were about to be closed down and abandoned. Businessman Paul Scally then came to their rescue and hired Pulis as manager.

The changes were immediate. Pulis cleared out the dressing room, bringing in a host of new signings, and the Gills unexpectedly reached the top of the Third Division. So what was the source of their success?

“Tony is very dogmatic about organising his defence,” says Steve Butler, who joined in mid-season. “He would call us strikers fancy dans and concentrate on the defence. I have never seen a manager who was so good on the defensive side and in sorting out set-pieces. He had a captain, Dave Martin, who would run through walls for him and Jim Stannard, in goal, pulled off loads of one-on-one saves.

“Our goal record wasn’t great. All sides, no matter how talented, find that something has to give. If you are good at both attack and defence then you are Brazil. Tony made his players work their socks off. They would earn all the money they were paid. The strikers would have to tackle back and the wide midfielders would tuck in and help the full-backs.”

Butler also credits the role of chairman Scally. “He gets a lot of bad press but has been brilliant for the club. It is light years away now from what it was in those days.”

Dave Puttnam, another mid-season signing, says Pulis knew exactly what he wanted. “To come into the club and turn it around so quickly with 95% new staff and then get promoted was a fantastic achievement. I was an attack-minded winger and certainly had my wings clipped. Defence was the most important thing for him.”

Stannard kept 29 clean sheets in the season, Gillingham conceding only 20 goals - a record f o r a 4 6 - g a m e p r o -gramme - and losing only once at home. Preston pipped them to the title in the spring of 1996 but frugal Gillingham, who scored 49 goals, finished worthy runners-up as Pulis continued his climb up the managerial ladder.

1 Richard Carpenter A midfielder, he began his career as an apprentice at Gillingham and played in 122 league games. One of the few players to be retained when Pulis took over, he stayed one season before joining Fulham. He played for Cardiff and Brighton and was with Welling United until May

2 Tony Butler A 6ft 2in central defender, he also started with Gillingham as an apprentice. After the promotion season he moved to Blackpool and then played for Port Vale, Bristol City and West Bromwich Albion, with whom he won promotion to the Premier League. Now 36, he plays for Alfreton Town in the Conference North

3 Neil Smith A T o t t e n h a m t r a i n e e , h e bolstered Gillingham’s midfield in 212 league matches before leaving for Fulham in the summer of 1997 as Pulis again made sweeping changes to his staff. Smith also played for Reading and won promotion with all three clubs. Formerly manager of Welling United, he is a player and assistant manager at Croydon Athletic

4 Dave Martin A member of Wimbledon’s Crazy Gang who won promotion to the First Division in 1986, Martin had also enjoyed three promotions with Southend United before joining Gillingham in the summer of 1995. The combative midfielder was captain and proved an inspirational choice. He owned several florists

5 Steve Butler The Birmingham-born striker joined the Gills from Cambridge United halfway through the season to help the push for promotion. Injury hampered him but he went on to score 20 goals in 101 league games and was on the mark at Wembley in 2000 when Gillingham won the Second Division playoff final. He was Peter Taylor’s assistant at Priestfield and followed him to Leicester, Hull and Stevenage. He now coaches young players seeking scholarships in the United States

6 Leo Fortune-West A 6ft 4in target man, he was signed from nonleague Stevenage for £5,000 with funds raised by the Gillingham supporters’ club. Pulis preferred a good big ’un to a good little ’un and Fortune-West proved a hit, top-scoring in the league with 15 goals to secure promotion. He spent another season at Priestfield before moving on. Now 37, he is scoring goals for Alfreton Town, where he has linked up with Tony Butler

7 Glen Thomas Signed from Barnet in January to help stiffen the defence, Thomas played his part in the middle of the rearguard. He spent two and a half years at the club and nearly lost his eye in a training accident when he fell into a tree. He is the assistant manager at Redbridge in the Isthmian League

8 Kevin Rattray Another £5,000 signing, Rattray came from nonleague Woking and played 26 games in his single season at Priestfield. He played for Barnet and was at Kingstonian and Harrow Borough but has dropped out of football

9 Jim Stannard The burly 32-year-old goalkeeper was one of the first signings Pulis made. He had played 389 league games for Fulham and proved he retained his shot-stopping ability in 106 league matches for Gillingham. The Gills fans would throw celery sticks at him because of his 16st 6lb weight. Club officials attempted to ban fans from bringing the vegetable into the ground. He is now the goalkeeping coach at Crystal Palace

10 Dave Puttnam The Leicester-born winger joined Gillingham in October 1995 from Lincoln City, where he had played 177 league games. He spent a year at Priestfield and then moved to Swansea. Now lives in Leicester and is a sales executive for a paper-manufacturing company. “It’s very different from football,” he says

11 Billy Manuel A Tottenham trainee, the midfielder had two spells at Gillingham in a career that also took him to Brentford, Cambridge, Peterborough and Barnet. He was a player-coach at Folkestone and recently played for Waltham Forest before moving to the United States

12 Gary Micklewhite The talented midfielder helped Queens Park Rangers reach the 1982 FA Cup final, in which he scored a disallowed goal in the replay against Tottenham at Wembley. He then played 240 league games for Derby County before joining Gillingham, where he finished his professional career. He was youth development officer at QPR, assistant manager at Wycombe and a coach with Charlton. He is now a cab driver in London

13 Richard Green A central defender who enjoyed six years at Priestfield, he was the club captain before Pulis gave the role to Martin. After 216 league games, he moved to Walsall, where he is a driving instructor

ESPN Classic, Sky channel 442, will show Tony Pulis playing for Bournemouth against Manchester United in 1989 at 3.45pm today