Berahino omission was not punishment, insists Pulis

Tony Pulis has insisted he was not punishing Saido Berahino by leaving him on the bench for West Brom's 2-1 victory over Stoke City on Saturday.

The Baggies were without Salomon Rondon and Victor Anichebe for the match at the Hawthorns but their absence did not prompt a recall for Berahino, who Pulis declared "lucky to be on the bench" for the 1-0 win over Newcastle on Monday.

The 22-year-old was strongly linked with a move to Tottenham in the summer and has been involved only sporadically this season after the two clubs failed to reach a deal.

When asked by Sky Sports if Berahino's omission was a form of punishment, Pulis said: "No, not all.

"Saido's trained well all week and he's really disappointed I've not started him. I've made the decision to go with Rick [Lambert].

"We thought Rick would be the ideal choice today and that's what you do as a manager, you make decisions."

Jonathan Walters cancelled out Stephane Sessegnon's opening goal but West Brom capitalised on the sending off of Geoff Cameron, who tangled with Claudio Yacob, to take all three points when Jonny Evans scored in injury time.

Of the red card, Pulis added: "It certainly changed it. They scored and got a bit of momentum. If you lose a player then the momentum swings.

"I haven't seen the incident, so I'll have a look. [Yacob] is not like that, he's quite a tough lad. Whether Geoff's caught him or not [I don't know]."