Pulis: Next two weeks crucial for Stoke

Stoke City manager Tony Pulis believes the next two weeks could be one of the most important periods in the club’s history.

The Potters entertain West Brom on Monday before back-to-back clashes against West Ham – the first in the Premiership and the second in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

“I’ve always said if we can stay in the Premiership for three years then that would give us a real base to push on and aim for better things,” Pulis said.

“If we can get good results against West Brom and West Ham we will be close to Premiership safety, which would be a great achievement for us.”

“We will then have West Ham at home and that gives us a real chance of taking the club to Wembley for an FA Cup semi-final. It’s going to be a massive couple of weeks.”

Stoke have an impressive record against West Brom – losing just one of the past 26 league games between the sides.

They have also won their last four meetings, including the last three without conceding a goal.

“West Brom have got some dangerous players and I know Roy Hodgson will do his utmost to steer them clear of relegation. We certainly won’t be taking them lightly,” Pulis said.

Winger Matty Etherington, who missed Wednesday’s defeat at Arsenal with a back problem, faces a late fitness test, but Stoke have no new injuries ahead of Monday’s clash.

The Stoke players were given Thursday and Friday off, with Pulis spending time with his family in Bournemouth, but assistant manager Dave Kemp said: “We will give Matty as long as we can to see if he can play a part and otherwise we are in good shape.”

“We were very pleased with many aspects of our play at Arsenal and confidence in the camp is high.”

“The table is still very tight, but we’ve got a positive attitude towards the rest of the season and are looking up as well as down.”