These are heady days for the Potters, who took another step towards securing a place in the Premier League for a fourth successive season by beating Newcastle 4-0 on Saturday. The comfortable win came on the back of their FA Cup sixth-round success which set up a semi-final against Bolton at Wembley. Yet Stoke continue to be derided for their physical approach and a reliance on Rory Delap's towering long throws. The sniping after the cup victory against West Ham got under chairman Peter Coates' skin so much he declared publicly there was a lot of garbage talked about their style of play. Pulis refuses to take the bait. Instead he talks with pride about how far the club have come. He said: "I will speak to Peter and tell him off. In this country we take far too much notice of what other people say instead of believing in what you do and believing your own eyes. "If people want to say things about you, whether they are complimentary or not, it makes no difference. You have got to get on and do what you believe in. "That has always been my philosophy, especially the job I am in. We've had a fantastic period at this club. It has been pretty remarkable. "The other thing is the club is solvent and run by a local chairman. It is not a bad model to follow." Jon Walters made the breakthrough in the eighth minute when he headed in Jermaine Pennant's cross. Pennant then scored his first goal for Stoke at the back post after goalkeeper Steve Harper made a mess of a clearance in the 46th minute. Three minutes later Danny Higginbotham drove a free-kick through the wall, leaving Harper rooted to the spot. Substitute Ricardo Fuller completed the scoring in stoppage time with a wonderful individual effort after a flick-on from Walters.
