West Bromwich Albion suffered a 3-2 defeat to Premier League rivals Manchester City at the weekend.
McAuley has made a handful of appearances for the Baggies this term, but the game against Pep Guardiola’s side saw his first top flight start of the season having been injured for much of the early weeks of the campaign.
And despite the fact that he could not prevent City leaving The Hawthorns with the three points after coming out 3-2 victors, Pulis praised the Northern Ireland international’s display before explaining why he was taken off with just over 20 minutes to go.
“I thought Gareth was fantastic,” he said, as reported by the Express and Star. “He went in for a tackle down the bottom end and he got up and was gasping for air.
“I brought him off because I didn’t want anything to happen to him!”
Though McAuley may have done well in the defeat – especially given how little the 37-year-old has played this term – it would not be a surprise if the West Brom fans were left frustrated with Pulis’ comments.
West Brom have not won a single game since August. And while they would have been underdogs after a Manchester City who have been brilliant this term, the frustration from the supporters towards Pulis seemed to grow at the weekend.
And hearing him label a player’s performance as fantastic following a result which sees their winless run continue will surely not help win his critics round as it hints that he is not as frustrated with their recent form as he should be.
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