Tony Pulis: Celebration on pitch was for Middlesbrough's fans not West Brom's
Tony Pulis insists his celebration on the Hawthorns pitch had nothing to do with the stick he received from Albion fans.
The Middlesbrough boss, who managed the Baggies for almost three years, was on the receiving end of chants like 'Tony Pulis, your football is s***' throughout today's game.
After Boro roared back from 2-1 down to win 3-2 with two Britt Assombalonga goals in the last 15 minutes, Pulis ran onto the pitch to clap the away fans.
But he says his celebration was purely for the Boro fans who had made the journey.
“There’s been a negativity because we haven’t brought anyone in and I think everybody was expecting us to bring at least one or two in," said Pulis.
“That’s why I went over to the supporters because the turnout was fantastic."
Pulis also said the victory, which draws Boro level on points with Albion and means he's done the double over the Baggies this season, was not any more sweeter because it was against his former club.
“No, the result is sweet because of our supporters, it’s nothing to do with the Albion supporters," he said.
“That’s life, you have to take it on the chin, some people like it and some people don’t. But that support was for our supporters."
The Welshman divided opinion during his time at The Hawthorns when crowds dwindled because of a perceived negative approach.
But Pulis wasn't annoyed by the stick he got from the Baggies fans.
“Not at all," he said. "Supporters have got to do what they’ve got to do.
“I met a group last night who were very complimentary.
“There will be people who like you and people who don’t like you. That’s life.
“People pay their money and they wanted to move on and do things differently and that was fine by me.
“I had a great time here, made lots of great memories and I think we beat all the top teams here.
“In the last season we finished 10th and really should have finished eighth.
“So there were a lot of good things for me to look back on and that’s what I’ll do."
And he was pleased to beat his former club because he reckons Darren Moore has one of the strongest squads in the dicision.
“Albion have got more players in their squad who could step up and play in the Premier League than any other team in the Championship," said Pulis. “So that’s a big result for us.
“We felt there were spaces opening up and when Britt came on those spaces were even bigger and he was very good."
