Tony Pulis paid tribute to his former club after Salomon Rondon's late equaliser earned West Brom a 1-1 draw against Stoke City in his 1000th game as a manager.
Having taken charge of Stoke for 464 games during two spells at the club, Pulis returned to the bet365 Stadium for a milestone match that looked to have slipped away from his team when Joe Allen gave the home side the lead after 73 minutes.
But Rondon scored in injury time to earn West Brom a share of the points and allow Pulis the chance to enjoy the occasion.
He was full of praise for the Potters' board and supporters afterwards, telling the Stoke Sentinel: "I couldn't have picked a better place for me to get to 1,000 games.
"The crowd were absolutely fantastic when I was manager here and I think people forget where we started from.
"It's stitched into my body, this football club, in lots of respects.
"It's always a result I look for. The Coates family [Stoke's owners] are wonderful people and I will always have respect for them."
West Brom were on the brink of a third defeat in six Premier League games when Rondon rose above the Stoke defence to head home Jonathan Leko's corner, and Pulis admitted his side came up against a strong team.
However, he insisted the Baggies were worthy of a share of the points, saying: "They [Stoke] have got an array of talent, so you come here and when you see the team-sheet and see what they've got, it's a very, very strong squad.
"When they scored the goal I thought we showed great commitment and got back into it – and I would have been disappointed if we had lost the game.
"It was a fantastic set play [for West Brom] and luckily for us Salomon had a wonderful header.
"They have outstanding players with great talent and we did well."
