Pulis had ‘high hopes’ before Palace defeat

Matt Stead

Tony Pulis says he had “high hopes” before his West Brom side were beaten 2-0 with ease by Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday.

Pulis had a short and successful spell as manager of Palace and won on his first return here last season.

But the Welshman was at a loss to explain why the same team he had named in their last away game, a 1-0 win over rivals Aston Villa, had fallen well short of expectations duringSaturday’s defeat at Selhurst Park.

“When you pick the same team, I came here with high hopes,” he said.

“When Jonny Evans was fit and Gareth McAuley was fit and you’re putting that back four together again – you get that performance and it is chalk and cheese, it is really disappointing. I don’t know if it is confidence or whatever, but you have got to sort it out.”

Former Manchester United defender Evans hobbled off after less than half an hour with a hamstring issue, while an ankle knock for James Morrison further depleted Pulis‘ options.

Both will be hoping to be fit for crunch international fixtures for Northern Ireland and Scotland respectively and Pulis will give them every chance to be involved.

When asked if he was concerned by Evans’ injury, he replied: “The concern is obviously for Northern Ireland with the big games they have got. Whether those two (Evans and Morrison) will travel I’m not sure.

“The home nations, we want to help them as much as we can so fingers crossed they will be okay, if they are anywhere near it we will give them a chance to play. They will be scanned tomorrow and they will know if they are serious injuries or not.”