TONY PULIS admitted that Premier League survival this season will give him even greater pleasure than last year's achievement . . . after Stoke City inched closer to their initial 40-point target with a draw at strugglers Burnley on Wednesday night.
The Potters remain in eleventh place with 35 points after Tuncay's first half header earned them a creditable point from the trip to Turf Moor.
City now have successive home matches against Champions League hopefuls Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur in which to move closer to their 40-point goal and then hopefully look to better their finish of twelfth position last season.
"Staying up this season would give me more pleasure than it did last year," said Pulis. "Everyone tells you about the second season syndrome and history proves that. If we can come out of it and stay in this League then the future is very bright for us.
"We have got 35 points with 10 games to go, so still our first aim is to get to 40 points as quickly as possible. Obviously, then we will try and better what we did last year. If we can do that then this will have been an absolutely remarkable season."
Pulis added: "This was a very good point for us against a team who really had the bit between their teeth tonight. It was a huge game for them, so for us to come here and play as well as we did I thought we did smashing.
"The lads looked a bit tired after such an intense period, but I thought they did very well again. They never ever let the team down, no matter which players you put out there.
"It was obviously a blow to lose Ricardo Fuller in the build up to the game because he would have been a big player for us here. When you add him to the likes of Ryan Shawcross, Danny Higginbotham, Salif Diao and Glenn Whelan that is a big chunk of first team players missing.
"I was delighted to see Matty Etherington come through the full 90 minutes. We weren't sure if he would get through it all, but he did and that is a big boost for him and us. He is a hugely important player for us and we have got to be careful with him. It was fantastic to see him back out there again as he adds an extra dimension to our game."
