The 29-year-old has struggled for opportunities for West Brom this season, but Pulis is still a big fan.
Tony Pulis has praised the impact that Craig Gardner has had on the West Bromwich Albion squad and insisted that he appreciates the 29-year-old enormously, the Express and Star reports.
The midfielder has struggled for opportunities at the Hawthorns during this campaign – of his six Premier League appearances this term, he has started just twice, and has not played since the draw with Tottenham in mid-October – and news that Gardner had signed a new two-year deal with the Baggies was not received well by some of the club’s supporters.
Crystal Palace’s Andros Townsend in action with West Bromwich Albion’s Craig Gardner
Nevertheless, Pulis has explained why the former Sunderland man is an important member of his squad.
“Gards’ quality is off the pitch as well as on the pitch,” he said, as reported by the Express and Star. “He will work hard to get that group together when things aren’t going well and I appreciate that immensely.
West Bromwich Albion manager Tony Pulis
“You need one or two off the pitch who are bubbly characters and can bring the squad together and Craig does that.”
Though Gardner is perhaps not as exciting a player as the likes of Nacer Chadli and Salomon Rondon, he is still arguably a useful member of the squad.
West Bromwich Albion’s Craig Gardner in action with Middlesbrough’s Adam Forshaw
His versatility means that he is capable of playing anywhere in midfield and can fill in in defence if required.
And with Pulis suggesting that he is a positive influence in the dressing room, he is surely the kind of player that the side needs around if they hope to recover from their slow start to the campaign.
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