Tony Pulis described as “absolutely disgraceful” the way he believes Stoke have “spun” claims he called Ryan Shawcross a loser. The West Bromwich Albion manager, speaking after the 2-2 draw at West Ham, said he used the word loser but not in an aggressive way.

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As the fallout from Saido Berahino’s ban for using a recreational drug and his transfer from West Brom to Stoke continued, Mark Hughes said on Friday that his predecessor as the Stoke manager called Shawcross a loser in a voicemail he left the defender. However, Pulis claimed he told Shawcross “you’ve never been that”, and that he felt “innuendos and allegations” about him were wrongly coming out of his former club.

“It’s absolutely disgraceful,” Pulis said. “Firstly, the phone call I made to Ryan is private. And then, yes, I did mention losers, but I said it about people with innuendos making allegations that weren’t true. When you lose a game of football you can still be a winner by taking it on the chin and getting on with it. I did use the word loser but I meant it in that way and I actually said: ‘Ryan, you’ve never been that.’

“It has been spun in a horrible way and I have to say, Stoke‑on‑Trent, forget about the football club, or the people at the football club, and the supporters, Stoke-on-Trent is a wonderful place … I’ve actually carried the Olympic torch through Stoke. I took them from the Championship to the Premiership. I took them to an FA Cup final and to Europe. Do you think I’m going to criticise that area and those people?

“It’s absolutely disgraceful whoever has put that out. I don’t usually respond to bait and things like that, but I am really, really disgusted.