TONY PULIS urged Stoke City to drive on and finish the Barclays Premier League season with a flourish after their hopes of reaching the semi-finals of the FA Cup were shattered by holders Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
City's manager set his side's sights on reaching the 40-point mark as quickly as possible in the hope that they can then better last season's finish of twelfth position in the Premier League to add to their quarter final appearance.
Having seen the Potters beaten 2-0 by Chelsea, Pulis must now pick his players up and patch up his injury-hit side for an important week of Premier League action when they face Burnley away and then Aston Villa at home.
"We have to put things into perspective, we're a very young Premier League side and we've had a fantastic season so far," he said after the FA Cup quarter final.
"But we must now get our season back on track in the League and drive on towards the end of the season. The first aim must be to get to 40 points as soon as possible and then look to better our points tally for last season.
"Only one club in the history of the Premier League has managed to overcome second season syndrome and improve upon their points tally from the first season, so that would be a great achievement if we can do it."
Pulis bemoaned the fact that City failed to take advantage of some clearcut openings before Frank Lampard broke the deadlock in the 35th minute.
"You have to take those chances against the likes of Chelsea or they make you pay," he added. "We had one effort cleared off the line and Tunny's first touch was bad when he had a chance of being through on the goalkeeper.
"But I can't fault the effort of the players. They gave it their best shot, but it's not dropped for us on this occasion. You need a bit of luck to win the cup, but it was Chelsea who had the good fortune today with the deflected goal.
"We've had a magnificent run, beating Arsenal and Manchester City to get this far, and we have certainly enjoyed this occasion, even if we haven't managed to make it through to the semi-finals. We can certainly take a lot from this for the rest of the season."
