Source: PA
Pennant happy with underdogs tag
Stoke winger Jermaine Pennant insists the players relish their role as underdogs and will use it as motivation in this weekend's FA Cup final.
The 28-year-old believes the Wembley clash against big-spending Manchester City will be "one of the toughest games of our lives" but is confident they will be able to compete.
Stoke have spent the last three seasons in the Barclays Premier League proving people wrong and upsetting the bigger clubs, a fact which was perfectly highlighted by their comfortable 3-1 win over third-placed Arsenal at the Britannia Stadium on Sunday.
And although a one-off match at a neutral venue may benefit City's vast array of experienced internationals Stoke showed with their 5-0 semi-final demolition of Bolton they can perform on the big occasion.
"We will be underdogs next week, there's no doubt about that, but people said we were the underdogs yesterday," said Pennant. "We like it that way. We always seem to be the underdogs but that title suits us, it takes a bit of pressure off.
"In recent weeks we have proven that we can cut it against the top teams in this division. We held Chelsea to a draw and we beat a very good Arsenal side pretty comfortably, so we are in fine form at the moment."
