Tony Pulis admits he has a soft spot for a homegrown defender making his 150th league appearance for the club last weekend.
TOP MAN: Stoke defender Andy Wilkinson has come in for special praise from Tony Pulis after racking up 150 matches for the club.
And number 151 shouldn't be too far behind as Wilkinson remains pencilled in for tomorrow's visit of West Bromwich Albion.
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"He isn't the most talented player when he has the ball at his feet, perhaps, but he gives everything, and if he plays badly, it's not through any lack of effort or commitment.
Wilkinson's resilient character is tailor-made to cope with the kind of occasion awaiting Stoke in tomorrow's derby clash.
Throw in an atmosphere that could be a little tense, to say the least, and it's the likes of Wilkinson upon which Stoke will lean heavily for inspiration.
Pulis, who goes into the game protecting that astonishing record of just two defeats in Stoke's last 30 league games against the Baggies since the late 1980s, says the two sets of fans should generate a fair old ding dong between them tomorrow afternoon.
"We are fortunate to have so many clubs so close to us for these kinds of games when you look at Albion, Villa, Wolves, then all those in and around Manchester, plus Derby over that side."
Pulis bumped into tomorrow's opposite number by accident earlier this week when he and Steve Clarke were at a League Manager's Association function at England's new headquarters at St George's Park, near Burton.
Pulis says of the former Chelsea and Liverpool coach: "He's done fantastically well in his first season at Albion and worked with some top managers who he's picked things up from."
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