TP keeps things in perspective

Published Nov. 21, 2010 7:15 a.m. ET

foxsports

Matthew Etherington's penalty put the visitors ahead in the 55th minute at West Brom when referee Chris Foy adjudged Scott Carson to have fouled Kenwyne Jones. Substitute Jon Walters converted another spot-kick with five minutes of normal time remaining and then netted again at the end to secure a 3-0 triumph for the Potters. The Staffordshire outfit have now taken nine points from a possible nine after also beating Birmingham and Liverpool, marking quite a turnaround from their four consecutive league defeats which preceded that. The last time Stoke won three successive top flight games was in the 1983-84 season and Pulis was keen to praise his side's efforts - although he vowed he would be keeping as calm now as he had during their difficult spell. "We have been on a bad run of four straight defeats in the Premier League and now we have three straight wins, which is the first time this club has done that in the Premier League," Pulis said. "It is a great achievement by the players, but as I have said, whether you are losing or winning, I think it is important the manager stays as level as he possibly can. "I'll allow the supporters to get down and despondent or happy and getting carried away." Pulis was delighted to see Walters score a brace to cap the week in which the striker had made his debut for the Republic of Ireland. "It is brilliant," said Pulis. "I spoke to (assistant manager) Dave Kemp before the game and I really wanted to get Jon on after he had made his debut for the Republic this week. "It has given him such a boost and you just want to get him on there." There were question marks over the amount of contact between Jones and Carson in the incident that led to Stoke's first penalty, but Pulis felt his team deserved any luck they had received. "I have not seen them (in replays) so I just hope they are penalties," said Pulis, who also confirmed Jermaine Pennant had been withdrawn early on due to a hamstring problem. "But we've had three penalties in about 92 Premier League games and I think Arsenal have had nine already this year, so we are due a few penalties and decisions - although I hope they are good decisions." Albion manager Roberto Di Matteo thought his team - who have now lost four out of five league matches - had been hard done by with regard to the penalties. He argued that Jones had gone down softly in the first incident and that it was harsh for Foy to point to the spot after Simon Cox and Dean Whitehead collided in the second. "Football can be very cruel sometimes and today was an example of it," Di Matteo said. "For the first one there was minimal contact and he went down very, very easily. For me it wasn't (a penalty) but obviously they got it. "I thought the second one was a harsh one and it is one we probably wouldn't have got if it was in our favour. It was shoulder-to-shoulder and there was not much in it. "It is difficult to explain a game like that because I think they had about one shot on target. You look at the scoreline and it is incredible."