Ron Atkinson tells West Brom boss Tony Pulis to target the FA Cup

The former Albion manager won two FA Cups with Manchester United and lifted the League Cup with both Villa and Sheffield Wednesday.

He reckons the Baggies, who got knocked out of the League Cup by Northampton Town this season, have been neglecting knockout tournaments too readily in recent years.

"It's not a criticism of Tony Pulis, it's the Albion, they could have made more of the cup competitions," said Atkinson.

"There are big financial rewards for staying in the Premier League. But too many teams toss away the cups when they are not going to win the league."

Atkinson expects Pulis to pull further away from the relegation zone over the next three games, which are against Burnley, Hull, and Watford.

"If they come out of the other side of that having gathered some points you can see them being very comfortable for the rest of the season," he said.

"Which, when the FA Cup comes round, might give them a chance, if they get a good draw, to have a go at that.

"If they did well in the cups and maintained a respectable position in the league, fans wouldn't grumble at that."

Albion are now in their seventh successive season in the Premier League but attendances are falling at The Hawthorns.

Atkinson reckons supporters would much rather enjoy glory at Wembley than retain their Premier League place year after year.

"Speak to Birmingham fans, they would sooner win the League Cup and get relegated," he said. "Those are memorable occasions when teams go to Wembley.

"I go to Sheffield and people still talk about the time we won the Cup, Sunderland still talk about beating Leeds in the 1970s. Those are stand-out days for fans."

Pulis took Albion to the quarter-final of the FA Cup in his first season in charge, and he's also taken Stoke to Wembley.

Although the Welshman's reliability in the league impresses Atkinson, he wants him to replicate those cup runs again this season.

"He knows what's required, he's got this thing about never being relegated," said Big Ron. "Certain people have that knack.

"Now he needs to take it on and have a cup run and take Albion to the final. He took Stoke to the final, so he's tasted it.

"I'm a bit disappointed in what they've done in the League Cup recently, but it's not only them, look who Villa lost to this year, Luton."

Atkinson played a swashbuckling brand of football at The Hawthorns in the late 1970s that is poles apart from Pulis's own particular style.

But the former Man United manager reckons those supporters that are disgruntled shouldn't lay the blame solely at the door of the head coach.

"You work with what you've got," he said. "What he's always done is made them hard to beat. Not many teams roll Albion over big time.

"He plays four central defenders across the back and makes them hard to beat which I can understand.

"An awful lot of it might be the directives he's given from above.

"I know a lot of chairmen and owners, who think the important thing now is getting the pot of gold in the Premier League. That's why your targets are slightly different."

• Big Ron's latest book, 'Ron Atkinson: The Manager', is out now.