by Martin Spinks
martin.spinks@thesentinel.co.uk

STOKE City boss Tony Pulis has told his players to clean up their act after counting the cost of their recent rash of red cards.

However, he admits to being non-plussed by the sight of experienced duo Rory Delap and Matthew Etherington being sent off for needless retaliation in Stoke’s last two outings – taking the club’s total to five red cards for the season.

“We are shooting ourselves in the foot and it is costing us important points,” he said.

“It’s affecting us and we certainly cannot have it.

“We are also seeing it from players you wouldn’t normally expect to get into that kind of
trouble.

“I’ve never seen Rory lose his temper like that. And since coming into the club, I’ve never seen anything to suggest that Matty would get involved in that kind of thing. It’s so out of character for the both of them.”

Delap was dismissed for a challenge on Shaun Wright-Phillips during Stoke’s 1-0 victory over Manchester City a week last Saturday, while Etherington got his marching orders after kicking Danny Collins during the 2-0 defeat to Sunderland at the weekend.

“I didn’t feel we were in any real danger at Sunderland until Matty got sent off,” added Pulis. “In fact, at that stage, I thought we could win that game.

“That said, I have to say the attitude of the 10 men left behind was first class. Your
heart goes out to them when all their effort came to nothing in the end.”

Pulis is considering a complaint to referees’ chief Keith Hackett after claiming Arsenal’s Emmanuel Eboue was yellow-carded for an offence similar to that for which Etherington earned a red card 24 hours earlier.

“I’m not condoning what Matty did for one minute when he got sent off,” he stated, “but when you see Eboue kicking out at a player and only getting a yellow card you have to start asking questions.

“It does seem to be one rule for some and another rule for others when you see incidents like that and compare it to ours.”

Meanwhile, Pulis is confident Ryan Shawcross will soon overcome the back problem which
saw him substituted early on at Sunderland.

“It doesn’t seem to be anything to do with the vertebrae problem he had a while back,” he explained.

“I think it’s more to do with growing pains because Ryan’s body is still developing and that involves the back.”

MANCHESTER City winger Shaun Wright-Phillips has been red-carded retrospectively after his clash with Rory Delap at the Britannia Stadium on January 31.
The news is a mixed blessing for Stoke, however, as the first game of his three-match ban comes against relegation rivals Portsmouth this Saturday.

NEW signings James Beattie, Matthew Etherington and Henri Camara, together with stand-in skipper Abdoulaye Faye, are due to attend a question-and-answer evening tonight at Delilah’s Bar. Organised by Stoke’s official supporters’ club, it begins at 7pm. Entry is £2 for non-members.