Foster: Pulis teaches Baggies to defend
Ben Foster believes West Brom’s success this Premier League season is undoubtedly down to the way Tony Pulis has reintroduced the art of defending.
The Baggies became the 11th side to draw with Manchester United after a 0-0 stalemate on Saturday, fully-deserving of a share of the spoils after a resilient display at Old Trafford.
And for former United keeper and veteran Foster, their ability to grind out results is no fluke.
Instead the 33-year-old insists it is the mentality of manager Pulis that has them flying high in the Premier League, heading into the closing stages without a threat of relegation in eighth place.
“We’ve defended well all season and I’ve got to pay credit to the gaffer,” he said.
“He actually teaches defenders to defend. It’s a lost art nowadays and players don’t know how to defend.
(Photo by Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images)
“Everyone is focussed on how to attack and go forward but he teaches players how to defend and I think the lads are benefitting from that, they’ve been doing what they did yesterday all season.
“We probably don’t get enough credit for that to be honest.
“Some of the best teams go to Old Trafford and don’t see much of the ball, we knew that. It’s important to stay calm, patient and compact.
“Defending is seen as the boring part of the game and everyone is eager to have flair football, even from your central defenders.
“There are many teams who are similar to us that think they can turn up to Old Trafford and out play players who are on £250k a week, £50million players – you can’t do it!”
