Pulis welcomes expansion plans

The Potters announced on Tuesday that they are to seek planning permission to fill in the south-east corner of their ground, currently occupied by a giant video screen, with seats that will take the capacity from 27,743 up to 30,000.

"People have been talking about filling the corners in for years and the decision has been made by the family (of Stoke chairman Peter Coates)," said Pulis. "They will have done it for the right reasons and I think the more people that are in there, the better it is for us as the home side."

Pulis added: "The supporters help us so much at the Britannia Stadium. If we had not had them, I don't think we would be where we are now. The club want to fill in the corners of the stadium, they want to do it gradually and I think that is a great shout by the chairman.

"The important thing is that when we do it, we do it as quick as we can and get those extra few thousand people in the ground."

Stoke, who have 12 points from their 11 games to date, are unbeaten in the Premier League on their own turf this season and last lost a home top-flight fixture in February. Their away form - which shows no league victory since January - is something they are looking to improve with Monday's trip to West Ham.

Pulis feels his side have actually played well on the road this term and is convinced the results will follow soon enough.

"The disappointing thing is that if you look at the performances this season away from home, we have probably been better than we have at home," Pulis said.

"For some reason we just can't turn it into victories. There was the late penalty for Reading (in a 1-1 draw) and the Wigan game (a 2-2 draw) where the goalkeeper (Ali Al Habsi) makes that outstanding save from the deflected shot (Charlie Adam's free-kick) with a few minutes to go.

"We played better at Manchester United this year (in a 4-2 defeat) than we have done previously, and we got a great point at Liverpool (drawing 0-0), deservedly so. We have played well - we just haven't turned it into wins. But it will happen - I am absolutely convinced it will turn."

Source: PA

Source: PA