Tony Pulis rang Ryan Shawcross to label him a 'loser', claims Mark Hughes

Hughes risked reigniting the feud between Stoke and West Brom over Saido Berahino's drugs ban by revealing Pulis left Shawcross an answerphone message branding him a 'loser'

Tony Pulis called Stoke defender Ryan Shawcross a ‘loser’ according to Mark Hughes (Getty Images)

West Brom manager Tony Pulis rang Stoke City defender Ryan Shawcross and called him a “loser” after the two teams clashed in the Premier League last weekend, Mark Hughes has claimed, potentially reigniting a feud between the two clubs.

Shawcross last week accused West Brom of leaking the news that their former player Saido Berahino had served an eight-week suspension for reportedly testing positive for the ecstasy-based party drug MDMA. The ban was exposed just days after the forward completed his £12m move to Stoke.

The 23-year old last week came off the bench for Stoke to play against his former club in a bad-tempered clash dominated by the row. Pulis and Hughes refused to shake hands before or after the match, with Hughes still angered by the incident a week later.

"We were annoyed with a number things," Hughes said during his press conference ahead of Stoke’s home match against struggling Crystal Palace.

"I was annoyed with their manager ringing up Ryan on the Monday morning after the game and calling him a loser. I wasn't too happy with that."

Mark Hughes was not impressed with the telephone antics of Tony Pulis (PA)

Hughes then refuted the suggestion of one journalist that the message may have been left in jest, saying: “What do you think? I don’t think so.

“There was a voicemail left, and I haven’t heard it. Ryan wasn’t too pleased about it and tried to call back. But he didn’t get any answer.”

Berahino will this weekend be left on the bench for a third consecutive match since signing for Stoke, but Hughes defended the conduct of his new signing, claiming that the player is “working exceptionally hard” before describing his drug taking as a “low level misdemeanour”.

“Under WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) rules he wouldn't have got a ban,” added Hughes.

“It's the FA that include recreational and out of competition testing. It was a low level misdemeanour. If it was a constant problem, he would have got a longer ban."

Saido Berahino failed a drugs test while at West Brom (Getty)

Rather unsurprisingly, Pulis had an altogether different account of the saga, although he did confirm a number of missed calls from Shawcross.

“Ryan has tried to ring me since that and I will get back to him,” said Pulis during his press conference ahead of West Brom’s trip to the Olympic Stadium to play West Ham. “But Charlie Adam? Not at all. It makes no difference to me.

"I think people know the facts. It was a sideshow. The great thing was everybody talked about the game. That was the main show.”