Experienced West Brom pros are key off the pitch

Boss Tony Pulis reckons Albion's experienced professionals play a big role in maintaining dressing room spirit.

The head coach has accepted the recent decision to hand one-year contract extensions to long-serving defenders Jonas Olsson and Gareth McAuley somewhat contradicts his desire to reduce the average age of the Baggies squad, which is one of the oldest in the Premier League.

Yet Pulis believes 33-year-old Olsson and McAuley, who at 36 is the oldest player on the club's books, offer far more than what they deliver on the pitch.

"One of the great things about management is how it's evolved," said Pulis.

"It's evolved from having a squad of 13 players to a point you are having to keep more people happy who are not in the team than the people who are in the team.

"So there's a real effort and a necessity to find a way of doing that and by having good players around and good characters, the Fletchers and the McAuleys and Olssons because they can look after that group.

"You have to balance it. As they get older – and they're probably not looking at it this way – the number of games they play actually diminishes so you need them to be good characters to not be in the team and still be good off the pitch for the group.

"That's always been important."

McAuley recently became the club's oldest outfield player in the Premier League era and has remained one of the mainstays of Albion's defence despite last summer's arrivals of Jonny Evans and James Chester, in deals which cost the Baggies a combined £14million.

Pulis, meanwhile, believes Olsson still has much to offer.

The big Swedish centre-back was impressive against both Tottenham and Arsenal after a few shaky performances before that.

"That was more to do with the amount of games we are asking him to play as Jonny was injured, it just piled up," he said.

"He'd come back from a long injury and he got worn out mentally and physically, that will happen with him and Gareth at times next year.

"But for players to come in with that experience and play 10/15/20 games is really good"

McAuley, with 43 outings already this term, is meanwhile on course to beat his previous single season appearance tally while at The Hawthorns, which currently stands at 44 set during the 2012/13 campaign.

"Gareth just seems like a fitness freak in some ways," said Pulis.

"I'm looking to strengthen everywhere if I can. I want to improve, whether we can or not we'll have to see but these two are really good signings for the club."