Middlesbrough head coach Aitor Karanka admits he can not understand the criticism West Brom counterpart Tony Pulis attracts given his track record.
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The Baggies host Middlesbrough in the Premier League on Sunday and Pulis is hopeful Berahino – who threatened to strike previous year when several bids from Tottenham were rejected – will return to his old self after the deadline.
Jay Rodriguez remains a loan target, with the Baggies hopeful of bringing the Southampton striker to The Hawthorns, while Saido Berahino looks increasingly likely to stay, despite Albion being prepared to sell him this summer.
“He’ll be fine. Getting over the next three or four days will be massive for him”, said Pulis ahead of the Super Sunday showdown with Middlesbrough. It seems like about 20 with him. “You have to accept that, I’ve been in the game a long time, I know the game”.
“I thought the other night, really and truthfully we were controlling the game until they scored their second goal”. He had three chances when it’s just him and the keeper.
Matt Phillips and Brendan Galloway have been the Baggies’ only major close-season acquisitions so far, with the club in the early stages of new Chinese ownership.
He said: “If we had won easily against Fulham, I could think we would have arrived to play West Brom maybe thinking that we are better than we are”. When I came into the club there were players who were here and have since left and they cost an enormous amount of money and the club has not got any return.
“The same players and now we’re two years forward”. I’ve always been the type to accept it and get on with it.
“We have stagnated, for all sorts of reasons”.
Kane Wilson could end a whirlwind week by becoming the Premier League’s first “21st-century boy”.
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Chris Brunt is also out with a knee injury but Ben Foster and Jonny Evans will return after being rested for the trip to the Cobblers.
