Stoke City Football Club News

• Nickname:Potters
• Founded:1863
• Manager:Tony Pulis

• Ground:Britannia Stadium
• Capacity:28,218

Pulis: We aren't a dirty team

07 Nov 2008 - 08:24:48

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Stoke City boss Tony Pulis is concerned that referees may clamp down on his side following Arsene Wenger's critical comments about his team.

The Potters beat Arsenal 2-1 last weekend, but Wenger was unhappy with City's rough-house tactics claiming Ryan Shawcross and Rory Delap deliberately tried to hurt Emmanuel Adebayor and Theo Walcott.

Both Gunners players missed the midweek Champions League clash with Fenerbahce because of the injuries they suffered at the Britannia Stadium, but Pulis has defended his players.

He now thinks his side could be singled out by officials, saying before this weekend's game at Wigan Athletic: "What worries me is the reaction we might get from the referee on Saturday.

"We aren't over-physical. When dealing with managers of that esteem, people sometimes take their word as being honest and perceive you to be something that you're not. That's got to be addressed.

"We've got Mike Riley on Saturday and it will be interesting to see how he referees the game and whether he goes on the perception of what Wenger says or whether he goes on what he sees.

"People in general can be swayed if they're not watching you play and seeing what you're trying to achieve. They read the papers and unfortunately a lot of people believe what they read.

"The last thing I want is people to have a perception about us that isn't true.

"I don't want us to be branded as a dirty team. We're a competitive team but we aren't a dirty team. We played Manchester City away two weeks ago and didn't have one booking.

"It's moved the spotlight away from their bad performance. I think we've come out quite well in this."