Oliver Burke struggled to make an impact at RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga and joined West Brom in the hope of a fresh start.
Hard-work, organisation and team ethic; three words that epitomise the management style of Tony Pulis like no other.
There’s a reason the pragmatic Welshman has never been close to a relegation dogfight during his nine years as a Premier League manager and that is because he ensures his side is set up, first and foremost, to avoid defeat.
While he is not exactly a favourite among the purists or the hipsters, Pulis is one of the most efficient managers in England’s top flight and West Brom’s solid start to the season, two wins and a draw prior to their below-par defeat to Brighton, suggests another comfortable mid-table finish beckons.
However, it will not have escaped Pulis’ attention that one of his new signings, Oliver Burke, may need a little more time to get used to how things are done at The Hawthorns.
Pulis has already issued a warning to the Scottish winger, signed from RB Leipzig for £15 million (BBC), after his misplaced backheel allowed Brighton to break and score the third of a 3-1 win on Saturday, as reported by the Birmingham Mail.
And Burke’s former boss at Leipzig also wasted little time reminding the Nottingham Forest prospect not to ignore his duties at the other end of the pitch.
“His hard drive on working without the ball is completely empty. He had never heard about that,” highly-rated coach Ralf Hasenhuttl said in October last year, as reported by Goal.
Pulis demands that his teams defend from the front and he has no issue with ditching technically gifted players if they aren’t wired into his demands.
Therefore, Burke will know what he has to do to win over his new boss.
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