Express & Star

Tony Pulis: I can handle the flak from Albion fans

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Under-fire boss Tony Pulis insists he can cope with the abuse from fans critical of his Albion reign.

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A run of just two wins from 11 games has seen supporters become increasingly unhappy, things coming to a head after Saturday's FA Cup exit at Reading when the Baggies head coach was abused by the travelling support and Chris Brunt hit by a coin thrown from by one of the club's fans.

Yet Pulis, who has hinted he could walk away from The Hawthorns in the summer, claims a verbal barrage from the terraces is something all managers must learn to deal with.

"I've been in the game long enough to know that it's there, it's close to the surface, you have to get on with it," he said.

"If you look at the abuse, if you go back to the beginning of the season, that Wenger was getting, and the stuff that Mourinho got.

"It's something that as a manager you have to deal with and you have to put up with. It builds up and builds up.

"That's fine – I don't understand it – but if they're going on computers and telephones fine, what you can't do and what you've got to be careful of is allowing the incidents to build over to what it was on Saturday.

"We need the supporters, it's their football club and we need them."

Pulis, who signed a two-and-a-half year deal with the Baggies last January, intends to meet with chairman Jeremy Peace at the end of the season to discuss his long-term future.

The Welshman has been handed a boost ahead of Saturday's game against Crystal Palace, with Gareth McAuley and Craig Dawson expected to return.

Both missed the 3-1 defeat at Reading with respective hamstring and ankle injuries. Fellow defender Jonny Evans is likely to miss out, though Albion are confident the centre-back, who aggravated a hamstring strain at the Madjeski, will not spend long on the sidelines.