Stoke have kept seven clean sheets in 15 Premier League games this season - the most in the Premier League and have conceded just 12 goals, a tally bettered only by Manchester City.
"His record speaks for itself," Coates said in the Stoke Sentinel. "He is very good at organising defensive play and that is a great credit to him. It is a talent, like everything else in the game.
"I think it's one of the features of modern-day reporting that not much credit is paid to defences.
"They just want to talk about goals, but defending is an art as well.
"I know he (Pulis) cut his teeth on Italian football during his early interest in coaching.
"The so-called Catenaccio defensive system interested him and the Italians haven't done too badly, have they, with their four World Cups?"
Stoke are halfway to matching their record of 14 clean sheets achieved in 2009/10, while Saturday's 1-0 win at West Brom moved them to 22 points, their best ever tally after 15 games of a Premier League season.
"I don't want to tempt providence, but fingers crossed that we stay on course," Coates added.
"I realise the vagaries of football, so you have to keep a proper perspective on things.
"But yes, we are having a great run at the moment and it's nice to get away from drawing games to winning them. It makes a fantastic difference to where you are in the table.
"The irony is that our worst performances of the season was probably against QPR... and we won that game."
Stoke travel to Aston Villa this weekend before taking on Everton (home) and Tottenham (away) before Christmas.
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