Pulis blames lack of spark on back-to-back away games

Sam Nightingale
Tony Pulis: Looking to bring in new recruits

Tony Pulis: Looking to bring in new recruits

Tony Pulis blamed West Brom’s lethargic performance at Southampton on having to play back-to-back away games following the midweek draw at Chelsea.

James Ward-Prowse struck with a free-kick and a penalty to put Southampton two up at the break before Dusan Tadic added the third in the second half as West Brom lost 3-0 at St Mary’s.

“Southampton were the better team,” Pulis admitted. “We looked flat, we had no spark.

“But I’d be interested to see how many teams have played their second game away from home this weekend and picked up any points.

“The lads looked tired, and we’ve done well away from home this season. But just after Christmas, two away games is very difficult. Why not have one away and then one at home?

“But take nothing away from Southampton. It was a bad day at the office for us, but we’ll dust ourselves down and move on.”

Albion skipper Darren Fletcher went off with a knee injury at half-time and will have a scan on Monday to assess the damage.