Tony Pulis says Rickie Lambert gave West Brom more of a threat

Tony Pulis has said Rickie Lambert gave West Brom "more of a threat" when he came on for the second half of their 1-1 draw with West Ham in the Premier League.

The striker saw his shot deflected off Winston Reid for the equaliser just four minutes after the restart, and then had a free-kick saved by Hammers goalkeeper Adrian not long after. 

He also provided plenty of passes for his attacking team-mates, and although none were enough to take the win at Upton Park, Baggies manager Pulis praised Lambert for his impact. 

"Second half, I thought putting Rickie up there gave us a bit more of a threat and he played really well when he came on," said Pulis.

"We never created enough chances in the first half. They looked very flat at the beginning and the goal gave them a lift. They then had the confidence to take the ball and move it around and we went from looking fairly comfortable to chasing the game, losing our shape and losing our discipline on and off the ball. 

"He says it's his goal because the ball is on target, he told me to mention that so I have!"

However, despite a good performance from Lambert off the bench, Pulis insisted it will not affect his team selection in the coming weeks.

"I'll choose the team who I think can win games and he has been brilliant," the manager added. "He's an experienced professional, he's had a brilliant career right through the leagues and I have tremendous respect for him. Whether he is in the team or out of the team, he is a very, very good professional.

"He'll have the hump if I'm not picking him, most of them do that, but you've got to be broad-shouldered enough and big enough to pick what you think is right."

West Brom went behind in the 17th minute after a brilliant free-kick from Mauro Zarate after Diafra Sakho was fouled by Gareth McAuley, but Pulis did not think his player was in the wrong.

He said: "With the goal, we're a little bit disappointed. It's a game of challenges and you've got two big lads involved in this one. He's done well by backing into Gareth and if you watch it back, he's pinning him.

"Gareth's tried to get around him without really doing anything wrong and there are worse challenges in the game, in and around the box that you could pick up but there we are.

"You can't really do anything when a set-piece is taken like that and it's a fantastic finish, but disappointing for us."