No let-up from Baggies, pledges McAuley

Defender Gareth McAuley today promised Albion fans their season will not peter out – because boss Tony Pulis will not allow it. more

McAuley insists the Baggies still have lots to play for despite moving within touching distance of Premier League safety with last weekend's 1-0 win against Stoke.

Pulis's side are eight points clear of the relegation zone with nine games left to play including home fixtures against bottom two QPR and Leicester.

But they also face a daunting run-in with Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal all among their final five opponents.

"We've got a lot to play for with these nine games left," said McAuley, who has helped the Baggies claim eight clean sheets in their 12 games under Pulis.

"There are a few teams that are a few points behind us but if you start looking at things like that you will soon find yourself slipping away.

"The gaffer is not having any of that I can assure you. The message from him is to finish as strongly as we possibly can and that's all we are thinking about.

"May is a bit of a lottery for us.

"We've got a really difficult group of matches in our last four or five games so the last thing we can afford to be is complacent."

McAuley and Co face a tough trip to Premier League champions Manchester City on Saturday before heading into the two-week international break.

They are hopeful that Brown Ideye will be fit to figure despite aggravating a knee problem against Stoke, while Victor Anichebe could return to contention after playing 45 minutes for the under-21s against Villa on Monday following a month out with a groin injury.

Full-back Cristian Gamboa limped out of that game with a tight hamstring and is now touch and go to link up with Costa Rica after Saturday's game at the Etihad Stadium.

McAuley said: "From the moment he came in, this gaffer demanded hard work as the bare minimum. I think the clean sheets we have picked up since then were a key element – no matter how badly we were playing in games, if we didn't concede goals we were in with a chance.

"There's obviously been a couple of games which were not exactly thrillers but we've got something from them.

"We had conceded a lot of goals from set plays and they are a massive part of the game these days.

"I think a bit of height is an advantage in coping with that threat."