Tony Pulis insists Saido Berahino will be a key player for West Brom this season
Saturday 12 September 2015 20:04, UK
Tony Pulis insists Saido Berahino will be an important player for West Brom this season after the striker featured off the bench in his side's 0-0 draw with Southampton just 10 days after threatening to go on strike.
The England U21 striker, who claimed he would never play for West Brom again after his proposed move to Tottenham broke down, was introduced in the 55th minute to a mixed response from the Hawthorns crowd as the Baggies and Southampton drew 0-0.
However, Pulis thought it was a positive reaction and believes Berahino can be a key component for his side once they get him fully fit.
"I thought it was a very positive reaction," Pulis told Sky Sports.
"The lad has made mistakes and I think all of us have made mistakes in our lives. I think you look back at times, and I'm sure Saido will look back in a few years time and think what he did and the way he did things was not the right way, especially for everybody connected to West Brom .
"However, he's a young lad and hopefully he will learn by his mistakes and move on. We all have to move on as well.
"You've seen what he can do," he added. "Second-half he made a difference when he came on. Now we need to get him fit and up and running. He will be important for this team this year."
In what was a game of very few talking points, Pulis revealed he will be speaking with Callum McManaman after his clash with Matt Targett in the first half.
Pulis appeared to want a penalty for Targett's challenge during the game but afterwards revealed he thought McManaman threw himself to the floor before contact and praised the officials for getting the correct decision.
"I think Callum's thrown himself to the floor before the lad's even touched him," Pulis said.
"I just can't understand why he's done that because he's knocked the ball past him.
"I'll be having a chat with him there. It's a really good decision by the referee and the linesman and well done to them."
