Tony Pulis: West Brom made hard work of nine-man Stoke
Saturday 29 August 2015 20:50, UK
Tony Pulis said West Brom made hard work of beating nine-man Stoke after Ibrahim Afellay and Charlie Adam both saw red for the hosts.
Club record signing £12m Solamon Rondon scored what proved to be the decisive goal when he headed Rickie Lambert's cross past Jack Butland in the 1-0 victory.
But speaking to Sky Sports, Pulis said the Baggies could have scored more and spurned chances to put the game out of Stoke's reach.
"It is not easy against 10 men, against nine men you would expect to do better maybe in the opportunities we created," he said.
"We brought Callum (McManaman) on, we brought Rick (Ricky Lambert) on straight away to give us more punch upfront."
Rondon's goal was his first since the Venezuelan joined the West Midlands club from Zenit St Petersburg and Pulis was pleased the 25-year-old had opened his Premier League account.
"I thought Solamon's goal was fantastic and we are pleased that he scored. He is a very good player," Pulis added.
"We just need him to score goals and get off the mark and once he gets off the mark I think he will be someone to be reckoned with."
The result leaves the Baggies with four points, a tally Pulis is pleased with after facing Manchester City, Chelsea and Watford.
He said: "It has been a tough start. For us top be sat here with four points from four games and now I'm looking at it and thinking it's not bad."
The fixture took Pulis back to the Britannia Stadium for the first time since he left the Potters in 2013 after spending seven years at the helm.
"I enjoyed the reception," he said. "The supporters were absolutely wonderful when I was here. We had some good time, we had some bad times.
"I got paid to do a job and I did the job Peter Coates (Stoke chairman) expected me to do."
