Lenny fires style warning to Albion

23 March 2009 19:30
Stoke midfielder Liam Lawrence has sent out a warning to West Brom by warning the Potters love it when sides try to play football against them.Stoke have given their Premier League survival chances a huge shot in the arm with successive home victories over Bolton and Middlesbrough and they are no longer among the three favourites to be relegated.Home games against Newcastle, Blackburn, West Ham and Wigan offer a good opportunity to pick up the neccessary points but first up is a trip to West Brom on Saturday week.Albion have won friends, but struggled for points, with their passing style of football this season, whereas Stoke have often been criticised for their more physical approach.The Potters are eight points clear of their rivals, though, and they will be hopeful of extending that to 11 when they travel to West Brom, who have not been Tony Pulis' side since Tony Mowbray took charge.Stoke are yet to win away from home this season but a record of just one defeat in 24 league games against the Baggies will give them confidence of ending that record at The Hawthorns.Lawrence is refusing to rest on his laurels until his side are mathematically safe, but does admit to being confident of picking up all three points in the Black Country on April 4."The next two home games (against Newcastle and Blackburn) are like World Cup finals, not just cup finals," Lawrence said in the Stoke Sentinel."And if we go down and win at West Brom in our next game, then things will really be looking up for us."We do better against good footballing sides. We seem to grind them down and frustrate them, so hopefully we can go down to Albion with a game plan and get the three points."We don't want to mention that word (safety) just yet, but a win against West Brom would be massive."Meanwhile Lawrence revealed James Beattie was quick to congratulate Ryan Shawcross after the big defender got him out of jail with the winner against Middlesbrough.Lawrence presented Beattie, who missed two earlier chances, with a chance on a plate midway through the second half, but the former Everton striker put his header over the bar.Shawcross later nodded in a Rory Delap throw-in, though, and Beattie got out of jail."James thanked Ryan for getting him out of the s***," added Lawrence."When I saw him (Beattie) going up for the header I thought it would be a goal."But Beatts has come in and been enormous for us, on and off the field. But we've got a great set of lads around him and we have proved again we can grind out the results when we have to."Something Lawrence will hope to do again against West Brom, regardless of who wins the style war on the day.[LNB]

Source: Eurosport