'The best way': The Tony Pulis and James Morrison similarity as West Brom boss makes Championship decision in survival fight
When it comes to escaping relegation and surviving - Tony Pulis was one of the best.
Alongside the likes of Roy Hodgson, Sam Allardyce and others - Pulis was synonymous with making a side hard to beat as they looked to fight off relegation.
Now one of his former players in James Morrison is trying to do exactly that with Albion - having been put into the hotseat following the failed back to back appointments of Eric Ramsay and Ryan Mason.
Morrison was part of the Albion side that Pulis inherited at The Hawthorns back in 2015 - with the former Stoke boss turning around the club's fortunes as they hit the 40 point mark with three games left to play.
Pulis went on to record another mid table finish before he was axed in November 2017.
Speaking in his latest BBC Sport column, Pulis outlined what the big factors were in Albion's turnaround in 2015, with one being the arrival of captain Darren Fletcher.
But he also explained how the way he set up his side was one of the biggest factors in their short term success.
And it has similar hallmarks to what his former midfielder Morrison has done in recent weeks - with Albion picking up draws against Sheffield United and Southampton.
He said: "When I arrived at West Brom in January 2015, with the club a point above the relegation zone, the club had recruited badly and as a coach it was really difficult to work out a system that suited the lads.
"I was able to bring in Darren Fletcher that month who, as I've said before, was the best signing I ever made, but my bonus was the strong characters I inherited at the back.
"Jonas Olsson and Gareth McCauley were inspirational, Craig Dawson, Craig Gardner and Claudio Yacob gave everything and we had a top goalkeeper in Ben Foster. James Morrison and Chris Brunt added quality on the ball too.
"I found that a 4-4-2 formation was our best way of being solid and compact. Saido Berahino and Ideye Brown were both happy to drop off and really make the team a team and with Saido hitting a rich vein of goalscoring form, we again stayed up and deservedly so - we passed the 40-point mark with three games to go and ended up nine points clear of the bottom three.
"My point in mentioning that season, as well as the Palace one, is that we survived because we found a way to win that suited our best players - and, as I said at the beginning of this column, I convinced them that that system suited their strengths."
