Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Tony Pulis says Salomon Rondon has upped his game for West Brom

West Brom boss Tony Pulis says his side scored goals at the right time
West Brom boss Tony Pulis says his side scored goals at the right time

Tony Pulis hailed the improvement in Salomon Rondon after he inspired West Brom to a handsome 4-0 win over Burnley.

The striker scored the final goal in a one-sided contest but played a key role in building the home side's lead in a dominant first half, setting up the second goal for James Morrison.

Rondon has become a key player for West Brom after not always making an impact last season and Pulis is happy __with the strides he has made.

The West Brom boss told Sky Sports: "Last year was a bit of a struggle for him. He couldn't speak much English.

"His children have got their school and I think the children speak better English than Salomon does. He understands it now so he has become a bigger part of the group.

Salomon Rondon gave West Brom the lead
Salomon Rondon gave West Brom the lead

"If you go in the canteen, he sits __with the players whereas before he would follow Claudio Yacob a little bit worried about not understanding the lads. 

"He's a good player and he's certainly upped his game from last year. Obviously he wants to score every week not just play well so it's lovely to see him on the scoresheet."

Three Scotland internationals gave West Brom a commanding half-time lead as Matt Phillips and Darren Fletcher struck either side of Morrison.

West Brom 4-0 Burnley
West Brom 4-0 Burnley

The result also gave the Midlands side just their third clean sheet of the Premier League season and their first in nine games, the last one coming in August.

Pulis added: "We're pleased. I think we scored the goals at the right time and we grew in confidence from there. 

"I'm really pleased with the clean sheet. Obviously the four goals are brilliant for the supporters and everyone else but it's always nice to have that solid base.

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"It's a pleasing performance and a pleasing result. Burnley are a good side and never stop so you're on your toes hoping that fourth goes in so you can relax a bit.

"We've watched them quite a few times and if they get set they're very hard to break down so we wanted to drop off a little deeper and allow them to come on to us so we could play James a little bit further up in the pockets.

"It's nice when you work on something and it comes off. It's a great result and the most important thing now is to prepare for Saturday at Hull which is another massive game for us.

"I'm very, very pleased we've won tonight. It's a very important result for us. Like I say, the important thing now is the Hull game and making sure we're ready for that."

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