Stoke City boss Tony Pulis believes he was right to hold back Tuncay Sanli.

The Turkey ace didn't make a full start for the Potters until the first week of December - and hasn't looked back since.

Tuncay has since blossomed into a first-team regular and has arguably been Stoke's most influential player over the past month.

"Sometimes you can play new players too early," Pulis told The Sentinel. "Then they don't play well and they lose confidence and it snowballs then.

"I just felt he wasn't right to go in straight away.

"A lot of the time he has been a loose player in the past, but we needed him to play to the team frame.

"It was just a case of getting Tunny into the club. You watch him in training, watch his attitude and decide he's ready.

"I was reading an article about Arsene Wenger bringing foreign players in and not playing them for 12 months because sometimes players need time to adjust.

"I understand the supporters wanting to see him sooner because he's a star player."