Pulis defends team selection

Stoke manager Tony Pulis dismissed talk of vindication after his side ended a four-game losing run in the Barclays Premier League with a 2-0 win over Swansea at the Britannia Stadium.

Pulis was furious with the reaction to his decision to leave nine first-team players at home for the midweek trip to Valencia, where a 1-0 defeat sent them tumbling out of the Europa League. All those players were back in a starting line-up here that showed 11 changes, and first-half headers from Matthew Upson and Peter Crouch earned all three points.

"If there's a criticism levied at me, then it should be for the first team I picked against Valencia, because we didn't play well that night," said the Potters manager. "But the team that went to Valencia did smashing and created more chances and gave them a better game. My chairman was really pleased with the teams I picked in both games and he's the one I answer to."

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