Fuller: Potters want to improve

05 May 2010 11:18

Stoke striker Ricardo Fuller says he and his team-mates are "desperate" to better their points tally from last season before the end of the present campaign.

A year ago the Potters finished 12th after accruing an impressive 45 points in their maiden Barclays Premier League season. Currently 13th on 44 points, Stoke travel to Fulham on Wednesday night before their final fixture at Manchester United on Sunday, and Fuller feels it would be a "great achievement" for the club to reach its target with victory at Craven Cottage.

"Normally when your task is to stay up and you do that with a few games to go it can be easy to take your foot off the gas and make sure you don't get injured, but we are desperate to get over 45 points," Fuller told www.stokecityfc.com.

"A lot of people say that teams in the middle of the league have nothing to play for, but you try telling that to us and the lads at Fulham.

"Now we just want to get that win to take us on to 47 points. That would be a great achievement for this football club and put us in a great position to go to Manchester United at the weekend and hopefully put in a good performance."

Fuller is expecting a difficult match against Fulham, whose domestic form does not seem to have been hampered by their incredible run to the Europa League final. Like Stoke, the Cottagers could still finish in the top 10.

"They are a very good team and very hard to play against, especially at their ground," Fuller said. "They have had a remarkable season in reaching the final of the Europa League and doing well in the league so we know it will be hard.

"I think people expected them to drop a little bit in the league because of their cup run but you just look at Sunday when they beat West Ham (3-2).

"They have a squad full of very good players and they will be up for this game against us too, there is no doubt about that.

"Players will be desperate to show what they can do ahead of the final, but we want to end our season on a high and we have the quality in our squad to hurt them too, so I'm sure it will be a very good game."

Source: PA