Tony Pulis signs on to take charge at West Bromwich Albion

With the enviable record of never being relegated as a manager, Tony Pulis’ survival instincts earned him the West Bromwich Albion job on Thursday.

Although Pulis has signed a two-and-a-half year-contract, the 56-year-old Welshman’s priority is replicating the rescue act he performed so unexpectedly for Crystal Palace last season.

The situation is not as perilous yet for West Brom, who are a point above the relegation zone before Thursday’s match at West Ham. But the fear of relegation was troubling enough for the central England club to fire Alan Irvine on Monday after just four months as a Premier League manager.

In Pulis, West Brom are gaining a far more experienced coach, who has been out of work since quitting Palace on the eve of this season. Before focusing on Premier League survival, the former Stoke manager’s first game in charge of West Brom is against non-league club Gateshead in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday.

“Every successful club is built on unity and that is what I shall strive to help bring to Albion,” Pulis said “We need everyone together from top to bottom - the supporters, all the staff, the players, everyone who has an interest in the club’s welfare. With that, we can go forward together and hopefully take this club up the Premier League.”

Pulis’ reputation was forged at Stoke, who he took from the second tier to the top flight where an aggressive, long-ball style made the team hard to beat. The tactics did not always impress rivals, and were once disparaged by an official West Brom publication.