Saturday 26 August 2017 12:27, UK
Tony Pulis has told West Brom supporters Darren Fletcher deserves a good reception when Stoke visit on Super Sunday.
Fletcher turned down the offer of a new Albion contract in the summer, opting to move to the bet365 Stadium after two seasons at The Hawthorns.
But Pulis hopes his former captain is spared the kind of hostile greeting West Brom fans gave Saido Berahino when he returned with Stoke in February.
"He should get a great reception because he's been absolutely fantastic for this football club," the Albion manager said.
"He's a wonderful person and what he did here on and off the pitch was first class. He missed one game in two and a half years.
"Anybody who's been involved with Darren Fletcher will tell you what a great person and human being he is. I'll be really disappointed if he got anything but applause."
Pulis and his Stoke successor Mark Hughes did not shake hands at that February fixture, while the clubs were involved in a public argument over the details of a failed Berahino drug test.
But both managers played down any difficulty in their relationship ahead of this weekend's game, Pulis saying: "I think the media and press would like to make it more than it is and I understand you have to do your job, but everything is fine."
Hughes said: "There's no problem."
