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Cape Town - After Theo Walcott put his side to the sword, West Bromwich Albion manager Tony Pulis blamed himself for the eventual thrashing at the hands of Arsenal.
Walcott scored three times in the opening 37 minutes as the Gunners rounded off their Premier League campaign with a 4-1 victory over West Bromwich Albion at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Tony Pulis praised the movement of Theo Walcott but blamed the defeat on his own selection-making, saying that, following the outstanding 3-0 victory over Chelsea at The Hawthorns last Monday, he should have freshened up his starting XI.
"If anybody needs to take any criticism then it's probably me. The Chelsea game took a lot out of the players. You could say today was a game too far," he said.
Nevertheless, Pulis has transformed the club, guiding Albion away from the relegation zone and securing 13th place with a tally of 44 points.
Asked to sum up the season since he took the helm on January 2, replacing the sacked Alan Irvine, Pulis replied: "It's been fantastic.
"This has probably been the toughest job I've had for all sort of reasons. But the players have been fantastic. They deserve a lot of credit."
At 6am (BST) on Monday morning, Pulis will embark on a gruelling charity rowing challenge, which starts at Tower Bridge and will then cross the English Channel.
"Can I look ahead to next season?" he laughed. "I can't do that yet. I'm going to spend seven days in a boat now for charity.
"I'm not looking forward to it but that's what I'm thinking about now more anything else."
