Tony Pulis criticises West Brom's 'tepid' show in 2-0 defeat by Crystal Palace
Saturday 4 March 2017 18:23, UK
Tony Pulis insists his West Brom side were "tepid" in their 2-0 defeat by Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Having already hit 40 points, West Brom were second best at the Hawthorns, with goals from Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend handing Pulis' former side a vital win.
And Pulis did not hold back in assessing his side's performance, suggesting complacency may be creeping in.
"We were very tepid, right from the beginning; I can't quite put my finger on it. For us, the levels of performances the players put in, we were well short today.
"You keep on to the players that if we're not 100 per cent on it, we're in a league where teams will beat you. We've been very, very good lately, home and away. We have to dust ourselves down and carry on.
"Complacency is the worst word in the dictionary for me. It's human nature at times to become complacent, but we've talked about it. People are people, sometimes they have good days, sometimes bad, just like me and you.
"Thank goodness we've got the 40 points, now we've got to get as many as we can."
Pulis, who was Palace manager between 2013 and 2014 before abruptly leaving, has a sour relationship with his former club, and was ordered to pay back a bonus by the Premier League Managers' Arbitration Tribunal, which concluded he had "secured early payment from the club by deceit" in August 2014.
The travelling fans took delight in the victory, and when Pulis was asked how Palace underachieved with the talent they have, Pulis said: "Well, just have a look what they've got on the bench. They brought a £15m left-back on, that's not bad is it?"
