Derby County loan signing Ryan Shotton accepts his Stoke City career is over.
While he is looking forward to life at Derby, Shotton admits that it is difficult to leave Stoke behind.
He said: "Not many people get to play for their boyhood team, and it's not nice saying goodbye.
"It's sad to be leaving so many people behind, and I have so many people to thank.
"There is the owners (the Coates family) for putting trust in the fact I'm a local lad. I know for a fact that behind the scenes they have been pushing for me to stick around and be the best I can. That's helped me massively.
"Tony Pulis, when he was here, was great. There's so many more people I'd love to thank, like Mike Pejic, Noel Blake and many more, people who created my characteristics and nurtured me."
