Source: Team_Talk
Pulis pleased with keeper conundrum
Tony Pulis is more than happy to have a goalkeeping dilemma for Stoke's clash at Sunderland on Saturday.[LNB] Regular first-choice Thomas Sorensen missed last weekend's 1-0 defeat at Everton with an elbow problem and stand-in Asmir Begovic did little wrong at Goodison Park.[LNB]Sorensen is fit to return so Pulis now has to choose between the two.[LNB]"He (Sorensen) wasn't fit for Saturday but I thought Asmir came in and did brilliantly, looking very assured," Pulis said.[LNB]"We have Thomas, who is an outstanding keeper who has done brilliantly for us, but we have a young pretender in Asmir.[LNB]"It is a case now of deciding what I do on Saturday. Do I leave Asmir in and let him get on with it because that then puts enormous pressure on Thomas to get back in the team?[LNB]"It is one of those situations as a manager you hope for."[LNB]Pulis is hoping record signing Kenwyne Jones - one of a number of former Black Cats at Stoke - will be particularly motivated against the club he left in the summer.[LNB]But he does not feel the Trinidad and Tobago international has any message to send to former boss Steve Bruce.[LNB]"If you speak to Kenwyne I think he would say he doesn't have any point to prove," he added. "He had a good time there and enjoyed it but he has joined us now and is 110% behind us.[LNB]"He has mixed in very well here. There are the likes of Dean Whitehead, Danny Higginbotham, Danny Collins (all ex-Sunderland); they all know him so it has been very easy for him to come into a club where there are people he knows.[LNB]"We are just hoping we can play as well as we have played in the last couple of weeks and get the result that our performances have deserved."[LNB]Pulis is wary of facing Sunderland after they were hammered 5-1 in the Tyne-Wear derby last week.[LNB]"There will be a reaction from Steve and his players and there will be a lot of people at the Stadium of Light wanting to see a reaction," the Potters boss said.[LNB]"Steve will be spitting blood after the derby defeat so we know what to expect.[LNB]"They are a tough team to play against, they have a good home record and some good players.[LNB]"He hasn't been playing Asamoah Gyan but has said he will play him and Darren Bent so we have an important task."[LNB]A win at the Stadium of Light would lift Stoke out of 16th place and above Sunderland, currently 12th.[LNB]But even after a run of three successive Premier League defeats, Pulis insists league places are not a concern at the moment.[LNB]"It has been an interesting season because the three promoted teams (Newcastle, West Brom and Blackpool) have all done exceptionally well, taking a lot of points," he said.[LNB]"That makes it a lot more competitive and open than it was last year. But it is a long season and after 38 games we'll see where everyone is."[LNB]
