Stoke City manager Tony Pulis was deeply unhappy at the performance of referee Mike Dean during his side's 2-1 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend.

Pulis has been less than impressed by Dean's displays earlier on in the campaign and had hoped to avoid the official until the end of the season.

He said after the Britannia Stadium reverse:"We sent a letter saying we didn't think we received a fair crack of the whip with Mike Dean. I spoke to (Professional Game Match Officials Board) chief Mike Riley about our concerns about him.

"We wanted to see if we could at least avoid him until the end of the season, but they had already selected the official.

"The statistics certainly don't stack up, especially compared to other referees we've had. We are making a case that Mike Dean doesn't do very well for Stoke.

"We compiled an in-depth set of statistics, but nobody takes any notice and he gets the game again. I will not speak to him (Dean) because it's an utter waste of time."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email