Tony Pulis would have liked longer Crystal Palace stay

Tony Pulis still cherishes "great memories" from his time at Crystal Palace and admits he would have liked the opportunity to stay at the club.

Pulis left Palace by mutual consent in August 2014 after nine months in charge, having guided the club to 11th in the Premier League.

When he replaced previous manager Ian Holloway, Palace had won one of their opening 11 league games, and Pulis was named manager of the season for his efforts.

Now in charge at West Brom, he faces his former club at The Hawthorns on Saturday Night Football, and admits he still holds fond memories of his time in south London.

"Palace in the short term was as good as anything you could achieve really," he told Soccer Saturday. It would have been nice to have stayed and taken it on a bit further, because it would have suited me, but it wasn't to be.

"I have great memories there and it is a great football club. The 3-3 draw against Liverpool was a wonderful night, and I enjoyed a lot of times there. The supporters were wonderful.

"The amount of times I bump into Palace fans now when I'm in London, they seem to be everywhere, and they're great with me and it's nice to leave clubs on good terms.

"I get on well with Alan Pardew, and it will be a tough game on Saturday because I know the players well."

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West Brom recorded their first Premier League victory since early January with a 1-0 win over Everton in their last league outing.

Salomon Rondon's early strike at Goodison Park ended a five-match winless run, with Albion now four places above the relegation zone, and Pulis admits they still need another three wins to ensure survival.

"We're desperate to get another eight or nine points and that will keep us in the league," he added. "The remit from the chairman for the first and second year was to stay in the league because of the financial implications. We have 12 cup finals now.

"We've had injuries to James Morrison and Jonny Evans this season, who are big players for us. They are very good footballers and they make us play. They can be the difference.

"But we've been unfortunate with lots of stuff this year. We've missed Saido Berahino for half the season. You look at Tottenham, if you took Harry Kane out and you took Jamie Vardy from Leicester, it's the same with Saido for us.

"He was one of the main reasons this club stayed in the Premier League last season because his goals really put the club where it is today. To be without that talent for half a season has been a really big miss.

"You can add Ben Foster to that, a goalkeeper who was second choice for England, and that's two very important positions for us. But you get on with your job and do it to get the results you need."

After their FA Cup defeat to Reading, Pulis appeared to offer no assurances that he plans to stay beyond the summer, but the manager insists the story was blown out of proportion.

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"I made a comment about sitting down with the chairman at the end of the season, as I do every season, and obviously they've taken it as something that it's not," he continued. "I understand, there's a story in it and it fills a piece on the back pages.

"But the chairman has been fantastic. At the beginning of the season there was doubt about the sale of the club, and he was close to selling, but it never happened. He kept in contact with me and we speak every week.

"He's been exceptionally honest about what he wants to do with the football club, and that's all I ask for."

Watch the full interview with Tony Pulis on Soccer Saturday from 12noon on Sky Sports News HQ.