TONY PULIS reflected on what a difference a year makes after Stoke City picked up a thoroughly deserved point against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park.

The satisfying point was further proof of how far the Club has progressed and was a stark contrast to their disappointing 3-0 defeat in Sam Allardyce's first game in charge almost 12 months ago.

City have now lost only once in their last seven Premier League matches and the goalless draw added to some fine performances away from home this season which has also seen them draw at Everton, Bolton and Birmingham, as well as win at Tottenham Hotspur.

"We have done better this year than we did last year so I am obviously very pleased with that," Pulis told Stoke City Player.

"To have 20 points from 14 games is absolutely first class for us and if we can do the same over the next 14 games that would be a remarkable achievement.

"I don't mean to be disrespectful, but some of the things we did away from home last season were pretty shocking to be honest with you, but we are adapting to life at this level now and as we have shown on the road this year, we are learning lessons from last year.

"I keep saying this, but we have had 18 months in this division, having been out of top flight football for 24 years, so maybe people are getting carried away at times. We need three years in this League to enable us to make that next step and really push the Football Club on."

He added: "Stoke City can get better than it is now and we can attract bigger and better players, as well as attract bigger crowds. But to do that, we must keep our feet firmly on the ground and bide our time. It is important to take it step by step. We are all desperate to keep this Club pushing on, but we must remain solvent in lots of ways by doing things in the correct manner."

Despite going down as a stalemate, the game was in fact an entertaining affair with both sides having good chances to secure all three points and Pulis says that is a credit to both sides.

"I thought it was a really good game with both sides having lots of good chances. We changed it around a little bit because we thought we could get at Blackburn on the break. I thought Ricardo Fuller and Matty Etherington were exceptional at times and they caused Blackburn all sorts of problems at the back with their pace," commented City's manager afterwards.

"They had chances as well and right at the end when Samba popped up I thought they were going to nick it, so fair play to them because they gave it a real go as well."