STOKE manager Tony Pulis is confident January signings James Beattie and Matthew Etherington can continue to fire his team to Barclays Premier League safety.

Beattie has proved a sensation on his return to the top flight, scoring six goals in ten starts since a £3.5m move from Sheffield United.

And Pulis believes the arrival of Etherington, a £2m acquisition from West Ham, has been almost as important to the cause.

The Stoke boss said: ‘‘James has been a fantastic influence at the club from the moment he walked through the dressing room door.

‘‘He settled in straightaway and is always laughing and joking and playing tricks on everyone. More importantly, of course, he is also doing the business on the pitch.

‘‘Matty is a quieter and more refined person and perhaps the publicity James has been getting has helped to keep him out of the spotlight.

‘‘That has enabled Matty to get on with things quietly and I think that has suited him.

He’s a good lad and his performances have spoken volumes.

I’m sure there is a lot more to come from him.’’ Pulis believes Beattie can continue to lead Stoke to survival and is more than capable of taking his goals tally to double figures by the end of the campaign.

He said: ‘‘It would certainly be a great achievement if he could. I’m not going to congratulate him too much at the moment, but he is in top form and looks full of goals.

‘‘His confidence levels are sky-high and that is always the case for strikers when they are scoring. We just need him to keep that going for another seven games.’’ Etherington, who moved to the midlands after his well-publicised gambling problems made life in London difficult, soon blotted his copy-book at Stoke.

The winger was sent off at Sunderland in only his fifth appearance for the club and Stoke, who were on level terms at the time, went on to lose the game.

He then served a threematch suspension, but has since bounced back to earn the plaudits of his manager.

Pulis added: ‘‘Matty was outstanding at West Brom last weekend, especially in the first half.

‘‘He’s quick, he works his socks off and he’s got a great left foot. I’m very pleased with what Matty is giving us.

‘‘When players come up from London you never know if they are going to settle or not, but Matty is proving a really good signing.’’ Pulis allowed his players to ‘‘take the foot off the pedal’’ this week as they prepare for today’s huge relegation battle at home to Newcastle.

He said: ‘‘I felt it was right to give them a little bit of a rest and I hope the performance against Newcastle shows I did the right thing.

‘‘It’s going to be a fantastic occasion with the circus surrounding Newcastle coming to town and I know our supporters will be really up for it.

‘‘The Newcastle fans will make a lot of noise and our lot will be doing their bit to drown them out. The atmosphere is going to be incredible.’’ Pulis is odds-on to name the same starting line-up which earned victory at West Brom as Danny Higginbotham appears to be winning his battle for fitness.

Former Sunderland defender Higginbotham twisted his back at The Hawthorns and only returned to full training yesterday, but Pulis said: ‘‘I will be very surprised if Danny doesn’t come through.

He’s done brilliantly for us at left-back and, after keeping two clean sheets, we don’t want to make changes.”