Pulis still targeting 40 points despite United victory

West Brom head coach Tony Pulis remains focused on reaching the 40-point mark after his side beating Manchester United 1-0 at The Hawthorns on Sunday.

Salomon Rondon scored the only goal of the game, after Juan Mata was sent off, to give West Brom a third victory in four Premier League matches, the club rising to 11th in the table as a result.

But Pulis said the club’s goal is still to reach 40 points as he deems that figure to be enough for survival, with West Brom only one shy of that target with nine games remaining.

“Let’s get to 40 and then take it from there,” he said. 

“It’s very difficult managing teams in the lower half of the Premier League, it is really, really hard work mentally and physically.

“You take it on board and you worry about every result, your own and everyone else. It can drive you insane at times.

“This is exactly the same as the other clubs I’ve managed. You never stop worrying, you never stop thinking that things could turn. You have to keep driving people on and it’s lovely to have people like [Darren] Fletcher in the group.

“Fletcher is old school and there aren’t many players left like Darren. He’s got that drive, he’s got that fire in his belly that maybe has been dampened out of his generation.”

Pulis was full of praise for Rondon and Saido Berahino, who continue to look a threatening strike partnership.

“The testament to Salomon is that he just never stops,” said Pulis.

“He’s such a fantastic lad and he took his goal with aplomb, great finish and we’re very very pleased for him because he is such a good lad.

“They’re a good group. We’ve got Saido and Salomon together and we’ve looked better going forward, we’ve looked more of a threat. 

“The beginning of the season we were hoping to start with those two and the two of them would have scored enough goals to make us a decent team. Unfortunately, we haven’t had Saido for that time.

“But since they’ve got together, the team has gelled a lot better, especially going forward.”