Tony Pulis warns James McClean after West Brom draw with Spurs
Saturday 5 December 2015 19:00, UK
Tony Pulis admitted James McClean "has to be careful" after avoiding a red card for a full-blooded challenge in West Brom's 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur.
The Republic of Ireland international grabbed the equaliser for the Baggies after Dele Alli's early opener.
However, he was perhaps fortunate not to be sent off in the second half after clattering Moussa Dembele in midfield.
"It was a reckless challenge," Pulis told Sky Sports. "He shouldn't be doing things like that, it's not allowed in the modern game and he's got to be careful.
"He just sees the ball, he is one of those people that if the ball was in front of a brick wall he would throw himself in to try and win the challenge. He's not a nasty guy, there's none of that about him, but he has to be careful.
"He has been absolutely fantastic for us. He's a wonderful lad, he works so hard and the players have really taken to him."
The draw is West Brom's second in a row in the Premier League and Pulis was disappointed his side did not take all three points.
"We were very slow out of the blocks and conceded a poor goal, but after that we created really good chances and should have won the game," he said.
"Tottenham are a very good side, very organised, well-drilled and a fit team, so we had to be really on it today to get a result and we played really well."
The Baggies did go closest to breaking the deadlock in the second half when Hugo Lloris made a fantastic reflex save to deny Jonas Olsson.
"It was a great save from the keeper but [Eric] Dier kicked Jonas' standing leg and it's a penalty for me," said Pulis. "But the referee couldn't see it."
Saido Berahino, who was the subject of transfer speculation from Spurs in the summer, did not feature in the match after starting on the bench.
Asked if he was tempted to introduce him, Pulis said: "Not at all. I thought the players played so well, you couldn't have replaced Salomon [Rondon], McClean was fantastic and [Craig] Gardner did really well.
"The three front lads and [James] Morrison were really good so it was difficult to change anyone."
