DEFEAT in Saturday’s FA Cup final was a bitter pill to swallow for Newport’s Tony Pulis but he could still reflect on a fantastic season for his Stoke City side.

The Potters’ boss, from Pill, was desperately disappointed with his team’s performance on the big stage at Wembley.

They were a shadow of the side that had beaten Arsenal so convincingly only six days before and Yaya Toure’s 74th-minute winner was the least that Manchester City deserved.

“Congratulations to Man City, they were the better side,” said the 53-year-old after watching Roberto Mancini’s expensively assembled team lift the famous old trophy – their first for 35 years.

“We reached a level of performance over the last six or seven weeks that was very good. The greatest disappointment is that we didn’t reach that level today.

“I don’t know why we weren’t at that level. They’re human beings and they have good days and bad days. And Man City are in a different league from every club with their spending power,” he added. “They had a £35m player and didn’t even bring him on. You can buy success.”

So the wait for a Welsh manager to win the FA Cup goes on, but Pulis knows his side has made massive strides this season and he praised the fans, including coachloads from Newport.

“It’s been a disappointing day but we’ve maintained our Premier League status for a fourth year, which is an absolutely fantastic achievement. We’ve got to an FA Cup final and we’re in Europe next year,” he said.

“It’s been an absolutely fantastic season. I’m disappointed and maybe I’ve been a little bit harsh on the players today but overall the season has been wonderful for this club, for the players and for the supporters.

“They stayed behind to watch City lift the cup and I thought that was a great gesture. They were brilliant.

“The FA Cup is special, especially for my generation,” he added.

“I’m a traditionalist. I’d much rather the final was the last game of the season with a full week’s build-up to it but the FA have got to do what they’ve got to do. They’re not going to listen to Tony Pulis.

“It’s a fantastic day. The supporters have had a great day and it’s a wonderful occasion but I’m just disappointed that we lost, disappointed that it’s not gone our way.”