Tony Pulis made an unscheduled appearance in the Stoke dug-out to inspire the Potters to their first points of the season on Monday night (Stoke 10/11 – 90 minutes v West Ham).

The Stoke boss looked set to miss the clash with Aston Villa after the death of his mother earlier in the day and he was absent during a first half that saw England winger Stewart Downing give the visitors the lead with a superb diving header on 35 minutes.

But Pulis appeared for the second half and got a response from his men as a goal by Kenwyne Jones in the 80th minute and a stoppage-time winner from defender Robert Huth gave the hosts all three points.

Matthew Etherington, who supplied the cross for Huth’s winner, revealed that the manager opted to join his men on the touchline after the break as he was unhappy about Stoke’s first-half showing.

“Obviously he wasn’t happy at half-time, he was very disappointed about what was happening,” he told Sky Sports. “He had thought it would be too much to be with us but after the first half and the way we played he came in.

“They were on top and he wasn’t happy, so he came in and I think we were better in the second half.”

The Potteries club has struggled for points in the early part of the campaign but defeats to Chelsea and Tottenham were not entirely unexpected and, with West Ham set to visit  in the Premier League on Saturday and a Carling Cup clash with Fulham to follow, better times may well be just around the corner for Pulis and his men (Stoke 40/1 – Carling Cup outright).