Gary Rowett has praised Middlesbrough manager Tony Pulis, calling him one of the worst to stand next to on the touchline, but one of the best after the game.

Rowett was most recently in charge of Stoke City in the Championship but was sacked in January after only eight months in charge, following a disappointing first half of the season.

He came up against Middlesbrough boss Pulis during a Championship game earlier in the season, a match which ended goalless.

During a recent interview, Rowett has described the Boro boss as "one of the worst" managers to come up against on the touchline, but revealed that Pulis offered him support after he was sacked by Birmingham City in 2016.

Rowett revealed that Pulis was one of the first people to contact him after he was sacked by the Blues and offered him his support, even though he barley new him.

“ Tony Pulis is the worst one to stand next to on the touchline because he abuses you for 90 minutes none stop but he is the best one after the game," Rowett told the Football Ground Guru podcast, as quoted by the Teesside Gazette.

“I remember when I was sacked at Birmingham Tony Pulis was one of the first to contact me.

“It was brilliant and I will be forever thankful for him for doing that. He didn’t have to call. He wasn’t a close friend. I barely knew him. But he went out of his way to make a quick phone call like that.

“He didn’t have to do it but he is one of those people in football who will always help others. There is a community in football and for all the animosity on matchday, everybody will help each other."

Pulis' Middlesbrough side are currently seventh in the Championship table and are looking to finish the season in the play-off places.

Boro looked almost certain to finish in the top six just a few weeks ago, before a poor run of six straight defeats saw the team fall out of the play-offs, with some fans calling for Pulis to be sacked.

The Verdict:

This is top stuff from Pulis.

Though he can be quite loud on the touchline, he seems like a sympathetic and understanding character off the pitch.

It was brilliant for him offer his support to Rowett, especially seeing as he barley knew him.