Sunday 15 March 2015 07:32, UK
Tony Pulis believes finding the right balance within his squad has been the key to West Brom’s recent good form at The Hawthorns.
A first-half header from Brown Ideye was enough to see off Stoke and give the Baggies their fourth home win on the bounce without conceding a goal.
The Welshman was quick to point out that the style of play used by his Albion team is different to those used with both Crystal Palace and Stoke with how a system fits the players of the upmost importance.
“We’ve found a way of playing,” said Pulis. “It’s a different way from Palace, it’s a different way from Stoke. We’ve found a balance within the group that suits them and that’s the most important thing is to work a system with the players that you’ve got.
“It took us a few weeks to sort it out but we’ve got a good basis of a balance within the group. But we still want those seven points to get to 40 points as soon as we possibly can.”
Victory for West Brom came on the back of consecutive defeats to Aston Villa and Pulis was thrilled with the attitude of his players in returning to winning ways.
“We had a good chat on Friday and again this morning about bouncing back. It’s not taking punches, it’s how you react to them,” he added.
“We took two big punches against Aston Villa and we were really disappointed. We didn’t play badly in the games, the big moments just went against us and you’re just desperate that it doesn’t take the steam out of the lads.
“It’s not how you get knocked down, it’s how quickly you get up again and they’ve shown great attitude today. I thought we played really well today, especially first half and the disappointing thing is that we should have scored more goals again.”
Despite the win Pulis was frustrated by the decision by referee Michael Oliver to deny his side a ‘blatant’ penalty in the second half.
“Michael will look at that and I’m sure he’ll wonder afterwards why he hasn’t given it,” he insisted. “They’ve just shown me the challenge from Cameron on Dawson and that is the most blatant penalty I’ve seen for a long time. Probably the most blatant that wasn’t given.”
