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Pulis wants Stoke players to forget Cup semi and focus on survival

Stoke City boss Tony Pulis wants his players to focus on lifting themselves away from the dropzone after reaching the FA Cup semis.

The Potters are only three points away from the bottom three.

"The first thing I said to the lads in the dressing room after the game was 'Fantastic, enjoy it, but don't forget we have a tough game on Saturday against Newcastle'," Pulis said.

"The great thing is we have overcome West Ham but I have said to them 'Now look at the league table' and we will certainly be doing that this week."

Pulis feels his biggest problem now is guarding against complacency and people thinking they had made it.

"Don't forget, first game of the season two and a half years ago we played Bolton and they beat us 3-0 and we got written off as absolute certainties to be relegated," he added.

"We haven't done bad since then and for me as a manager I am just so delighted for the players.

"But the biggest problem at all Premier League clubs, especially ones like ourselves who get promoted, is people getting blase inside and outside the club.

"People start thinking 'We should be beating this team or that team,' but we don't have a right to beat anyone unless we go out there and work hard enough and are committed to do that.

"There are clubs in our league who have been in it a lot longer than we have; three or four years ago we were a struggling Championship club.

"You have to recognise it and keep the players and people involved at the club away from that complacency. You have to try to make sure everyone is on the front foot all the time."

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