Cardiff boss Dave Jones saw his outfit clinch a late leveller in the 1-1 draw with Burnley at Turf Moor, then went on to attack his critics for not achieving an automatic berth. Jones said: "It's still a good achievement to get to the play-offs and I wish people would stop knocking us because we've not got automatic (promotion).
"What about the other 20 clubs that haven't got it either?
"We've worked so hard this season. No-one thought we'd be anywhere near it with the transfer embargo that was on us.
"It's still a good achievement, and I'm sure the other three teams will all be saying exactly the same. I don't think there's anything to be ashamed of or anything to be disappointed in."
QPR were confirmed as title winners after the Football Association revealed they will not face a points deduction, and Cardiff chief executive Gethin Jenkins said his club would not be appealing against the decision.
"We've now got two tough games home and away against Reading," said Jones as he looked ahead to the forthcoming play-offs.
"We just had to tell the players to go out, keep playing, and do the right stuff. I don't think it had an effect on the players.
"I want to talk about us getting to the play-offs now rather than stuff we've got no control over.
"I'm sure the other clubs in the division and their hierarchy will deal with it, rather than the managers.
"It's not for me to get into the realms of what they should have done or what they shouldn't have done. We abide by the rules and everyone else should."
Clarets Eddie Howe felt his side deserved the win.
Howe said: "I thought we deserved to win. We were excellent, we set out to pass the ball, keep the ball, and try to frustrate Cardiff. I thought we did that really, really well.
"I think we leave the season with a feeling of what could have been. You look at us play at full flow, as we were at times in this game, and you think 'what a team'.
"But then you concede the goal at the end, and you just think that you need to have the consistency for the full 90 minutes every game, home and away. That's what we're going to strive for next season.
"It was a great goal. It was a fantastic ball by Andre Bikey and a fantastic finish by Jay Rodriguez."
Howe added: "I'm not satisfied with eighth because we want to finish higher.
"We're always striving for more, and we want to hit the ground running next year."
