West Bromwich Albion manager Tony Pulis has refused to respond to reports that he has not paid any of the £3.7 million he owes Crystal Palace.

The Baggies boss will be up against his former club in the Premier League on Saturday amid press reports that the London club could employ bailiffs to recover the debt.

Last year, Pulis was ordered to pay Palace £3.7 million ($4.6 million, 4.3 million euros) by a Premier League Managers' Arbitration Tribunal which found he had "deliberately misled" the Eagles and described his conduct as "disgraceful".

Pulis challenged that decision in the High Court but judge Michael Burton found against him at a London hearing in November.

"The situation is the lawyers have told me not to say anything and when the situation is concluded then I will have my say on it," Pulis said Friday.

"I'll let the lawyers do their work. I'm not so sure the Palace fans will be (different towards me). They can make their own mind up. They were fantastic to me and what has happened off the pitch has been really disappointing, but I can't go into it.

"This business has been going on for two-and-a-half years and it's something that is not for me to talk about at the moment. And if I said anything I could get myself in trouble, and I don't want to do that.

"All I can say is I had a great time at Palace and the supporters were fantastic to me, especially towards the back end of the season when we got enough points to stay up," he added.

Burton said Pulis had a contract which would see him get a £2 million bonus if he kept Palace in the Premier League in 2013-14 and stayed in the manager's job until August 31 2014.

Pulis oversaw the Eagles' campaign to avoid relegation but did not stay with Palace until August 31.

Palace officials said Pulis had deceived them into an early payment of the bonus by saying he was "committed" to the club and "urgently needed the money early" so he could buy a plot of land for his daughter.

Burton said Palace had agreed to Pulis's request for early payment and handed over £2 million on August 12 2014, only to be told a day later by the manager that he wanted to leave. Pulis quit Palace on August 14.