Ryan Shawcross

Stoke defender, Ryan Shawcross refused to accept that the Potters 4-1 defeat was ok because they have had a good season and more than survived relegation. The Potters took a mauling at the Emirates yesterday afternoon, talking with the press today the defender explain's how he and his team mates were left bitterly dissapointed.

Over 3,000 fans remained seated despite the clubs poor away performance and gave the boys a standing ovation, following there final league position of 12th, whilst the fans feel there's no need for an excuse, Shawcrross wasn't happy with performance.

“It is a sour end to a very good season and we are disappointed we haven’t come here and got a result. We were very poor in the first half and conceded four sloppy goals. We were better in the second but you can’t do that at a place like this because Arsenal are such a good team. In the second half we just wanted to keep a clean sheet and grab a goal. We knew we weren’t going to win the game, but we are disappointed that after such a good season, we have finished on that kind of note.”

Shawcross didn't have a great day, he came close with the head on occassions but on 16 minutes he brough down Van Persie and had no complaints at the referee's decision to point to the spot.

“I clipped him. He might have taken a bit of a dive, but if you leave your leg out there, you are leaving the opportunity for them to fall over. I made mistakes and I have to cut that out of my game if I want to be a good player. I have learned a lot this season, most of all that if you make one mistake, they will score. But I have learned from this and hopefully next season I can come back even stronger. Despite his disappointment, Shawcross said once the frustration with this defeat fades, the players and the club will look back proudly on the season. It has been fantastic, as a city and as a team. No one expected us to stay up, so to come to the last game of the season 11 points clear was a fantastic achievement. We should all be proud, go into out holidays and come back stronger. Hopefully next season we will be better away to the big teams. Our fans were fantastic here again and we are all disappointed we didn’t give them a better performance.”

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