Stoke City boss Tony Pulis was happy to see his players turning on eachother during yesterday's battling 0-0 draw with Wigan.

Stoke almost took their famous fighting spirit a step too far, with team-mates Abdoulaye Faye and Dave Kitson involved in an angry 72nd minute altercation during the goalless draw at Wigan.

But the incident did not concern Stoke boss Tony Pulis, who said: "It just goes to show the players' passion and commitment. They're all in the dressing room together and you can see what it means to them."

Despite his disappointment at barely improving upon the worst home record in the Barclays Premier League, Steve Bruce refused to follow Arsene Wenger's example and instead heaped praise upon his opponents.

Bruce added: "I know how difficult it is to bring a team up from the Championship into the Premier League and whatever you write or I say, they're going to do it their way.

"It's flaming hard to play against them. Wimbledon did it years ago and won the FA Cup and finished in the top 10 repeatedly. They're big, powerful, well drilled and very tough to play against."

Pulis added: "It was always going to be a difficult week for us after the Arsenal game, after you've played one of the top teams and got a great result and with all the furore afterwards.

"It's sometimes very hard to get the players up again. It was really a concern for me but they showed they are a committed group. They get their bodies in the way and they did that in abundance in the second half."