Pulis couldn’t be happier with Baggies players

West Brom boss Tony Pulis believes the outside criticism of his players is unfair and insists he couldn’t be happier with the effort from his troops.

A largely promising season got better on Saturday as the Baggies beat top-four hopefuls Arsenal 3-1 , leaving Pulis as a proud manager, regardless of how the rest of the season goes.

Centre back Craig Dawson scored twice from corners and substitute Hal Robson-Kanu grabbed the other goal, as the Albion returned to form in impressive style at the Hawthorns to severely dent the Gunners’ Champions League qualification hopes.

Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images

Pulis’ team had previously suffered a couple of disappointing defeats against Crystal Palace and Everton, leading to some concerns that a successful campaign was about to fizzle out.

But the three points against Arsenal, who also lost the corresponding fixture last season, have allowed them to consolidate their position of eighth place, maintaining their chances of equalling their highest Premier League finish.

Pulis said: “We are what we are – we need more quality and we need to strengthen in certain areas, but this group of players has been absolutely fantastic.

“I’ve just told them that irrespective of if we lose the next three or four [games], their effort and commitment will always be appreciated by me.

“Irrespective of the ‘experts’ outside the club – they line up to criticise and that’s the norm in this country, but I won’t be criticising these players. They’ve been fantastic.

“We’ve raised the bar and when you raise the bar, people have more expectations and you’re open then to more criticism, but that’s life.”