West Bromwich Albion boss Tony Pulis has insisted that Saido Berahino has no distractions, but will have to earn his spot back in the starting lineup.

The England Under-21 international was pursued by Tottenham Hotspur, Stoke City and Newcastle United in the January transfer window, but once again, the club rebuffed all approaches for the striker.

Despite the Baggies' desire to keep hold of Berahino, the forward has struggled to hold down a spot in the first XI, making 12 appearances from the bench.

"The supporters won't like to hear this but you can't go from him not doing nothing to him starting and turning water into wine for us," Pulis told reporters in Friday's press conference. "The good thing about now is that the path is clear. There's nothing that can distract him.

"Hopefully, in the next couple of weeks we can get him fit enough to start a game in the Premier League. I don't want to lose him so we have to go a little bit careful with him. Irrespective of all the work he has done in training, he is still a little bit heavier than he was last year."

Berahino has scored six goals in all competitions so far this season.