Despite being on the wrong end of a 1-0 scoreline at Craven Cottage, Stoke City boss Tony Pulis promised fans that the team was concentrating all their efforts on reaching the magic 40 point mark. 

 

The Potters manager was acutely aware of the lack of opportunities created against Fulham where an Erik Nevland goal separated the sides. But with Fulham continuing their good home form, the resulting defeat leaves City still within the clutches of the relegation fight. The combination of only four games remaining and an eight point gap to third from bottom should be enough to ensure a second consecutive season of Premier League football at the Britannia Stadium but Pulis will remain cautious until they are mathematically safe. "We're desperate to get to 40 points“ he admitted.

Pulis also said that keeping Stoke in the Premiership would be “my biggest achievement in management if we stayed up.”

Pulis has never been relegated as a manager and it is a proud record that he hopes to maintain. “It will be a magnificent achievement, not just for myself but for the chairman and club” he said.