AMID the cheers and whoops of Blackburn’s ecstatic supporters, the contented chatter of Sam Allardyce and the celebratory high-fives of his players, there was another sound just about audible in Lancashire on Saturday night: the noise of Paul Ince gnashing his teeth.

Stoke manager Tony Pulis will decide on the fitness of five of his players before finalising preparations for tomorrow’s Premier League clash at Blackburn.

FULHAM might be enjoying their best season for years but Roy Hodgson is apparently a hard man to satisfy.

Stoke boss Tony Pulis insists he has yet to decide who will replace suspended five-goal top scorer Ricardo Fuller against West Brom tomorrow.

Stoke 2 Rotherham 0

RICARDO Fuller’s second-half header gave Stoke a deserved victory over Sunderland to lift the Potters out of the Premier League bottom three last night.

Stoke 2 Reading 2 (AET, Stoke win 4-3 on penalties)

Cheltenham 2 Stoke 3

Stoke are waiting for the arrival of work permits for new recruits Abdoulaye Faye and Haminu Dramani ahead of their first home game in the Premier League against Aston Villa tomorrow.

Stoke will make late decisions over the fitness of last season’s 15-goal top scorers Ricardo Fuller and Liam Lawrence before they make their Premier League debut at Bolton tomorrow.

NOBODY understands the lure of Southampton more than Rory Delap, but the Stoke midfielder is desperate for manager Tony Pulis to resist the overtures from St Mary’s and lead City to promotion.

STOKE billed this game as a ‘Kids for a Quid’ fixture, but they could now stand accused of cruelty to children after an absolutely abysmal advert for the Championship.

Stoke 2 Sunderland 1

Premiership results

Premiership half-time scores

Premiership team sheets

Sheffield United cut Reading’s lead at the top of the Coca-Cola Championship to nine points with a 2-1 derby win over rivals Sheffield Wednesday.

Striker Lomana Lualua is ready to return for Portsmouth after missing four games while on African Nations Cup duty and will face Manchester United at Fratton Park just a week after being told of the death of his baby son.

Portsmouth’s two new loan signings Wayne Routledge and Andres D’Alessandro will make their debuts against Bolton at Fratton Park tomorrow.

Portsmouth 1 Liverpool 2

Skipper Dejan Stefanovic is winning his fight for fitness to lead Portsmouth into the FA Cup fourth-round tie with Liverpool on Sunday despite being stretchered off in last week’s 5-0 defeat at Birmingham with a suspected fractured cheekbone.

Birmingham 5 Portsmouth 0

Bolton v Man City

Portsmouth will fly Zimbabwe striker Benjani Mwaruwari to the African Nations Cup in Egypt by private jet on Sunday so he can play in tomorrow’s Barclays Premiership relegation clash at Birmingham.

Portsmouth 1 West Brom 0

Harry Redknapp gambled on the creative brilliance of Frenchman Laurent Robert to give him a happy homecoming in Portsmouth’s vital Barclays Premiership clash with fellow strugglers West Brom.

Tottenham Hotspur 3 Portsmouth 1

Tottenham 3 Portsmouth 1

Striker Vincent Pericard looks certain to figure for Portsmouth at Tottenham on Monday night after being recalled early from loan at Sheffield United.

Striker Vincent Pericard has revealed former Portsmouth team-mate David Unsworth was instrumental in his decision to join Coca-Cola Championship leaders Sheffield United.

Portsmouth included six summer signings and Tottenham selected three newcomers but were without three key men at Fratton Park.

Portsmouth manager Alain Perrin will keep Zambia striker Collins Mbesuma on ice for tomorrow’s Premiership opener at home to Tottenham but six of his seven summer signings look set to start.

Portsmouth boss Velimir Zajec looks set to stay in the job for the rest of the season.

Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp believes he may be a busy man on the transfer front in January as he seeks to add numbers to a squad shattered by injuries.

Premiership latest:

Premiership latest:

Premiership latest:

Premiership latest:

Premiership latest:

Premiership latest:

Premiership latest:

Premiership latest:

Premiership latest:

Premiership latest: