ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Since his arrival as a player at Orlando City SC in 2012, Anthony Pulis had remained one of the club’s links to its past in the USL as the Lions’ MLS era hit full swing.

But after claiming a USL Cup as a player with the Lions, and leading Orlando City B to the USL Cup Playoffs in his first season as a Head Coach, the challenge of something new was at the forefront of the 33-year-old’s mind when he decided to take up his new position as Saint Louis FC’s Head Coach.

“The opportunity to coach my own team and put my own stamp on it was obviously massive for me,” Pulis told the Orlando Sentinel’s Alicia DelGallo. “They wanted an ambitious, hungry, driven coach who was going to galvanize the whole club. … And I think they wanted somebody to come in with fresh ideas, who was young and enthusiastic and who was going to kind of give them something different.”

After three consecutive seasons without a postseason appearance, Saint Louis’ leadership and fans are certainly hoping the third Head Coach in the club’s history can find the magic that was lacking previously. A bright start to the 2017 season put STLFC in optimistic mood, but from there the club’s inconsistency saw an early elimination from playoff contention.

There were bright points, for sure. The emergence of Seth Rudolph over the course of the season was admirable, and with the potential return of Irvin Herrera for 2018 after his year on loan the club’s attack could get a major boost. After squaring off against Saint Louis twice in the 2017 regular season – where STLFC went 1-0-1 against OCB – Pulis has an idea of what he might have to work with, and where the side could use strengthening.

“We played them twice, saw them in the preseason, and I watched them on tape a number of times” Pulis told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Joe Lyons. “I have a feel for what’s here and there are definitely some pieces we can build around. But we’ll also need to add some pieces to make sure we’re very competitive next season.”