Mark Robins admitted his time as Stoke manager has been “one of the toughest” of his career after a 0-0 draw at Derby kept both clubs in the Championship.
Robins described the match as “rubbish” but knew the important thing was avoiding dropping into League One.
Robins said: “The game was rubbish but we both ended up getting what we needed which is the most important thing.
“Teams have struggled here to play against them all season to be fair but certainly since John (Eustace) came in. They play in a way that makes it difficult for you to play in the best of times but you take what you can and we battled and got the point we needed.
“Since I came in on January 1 it’s been a really tough period, one of the toughest of my career to be fair.
“It’s been really difficult because they’ve had a lot of upheaval, a lot of injuries to key players at the wrong time of the season for too long a period of time which has really affected and hampered it.
“This team should never have been anywhere near the bottom, it’s a mid-table team at worst and had everyone been fit and we had been in earlier things wouldn’t have come down to this day but thankfully we’ve managed to come out the other side OK and now is the period where we have got to build.”
There were few clear chances in a nervy contest although Stoke goalkeeper Viktor Johansson kept the visitors afloat with several excellent saves.
The pick of them came in the 31st minute when he plunged to his left to keep out a header from Derby centre-back Sondre Langas who also fired over in what was a scrappy first half.
Josh Vickers had hardly been called into action before the break but early in the second half he had to be at his sharpest to prevent Ali Al-Hamadi giving Stoke the lead.
Even though results elsewhere meant there was a celebratory mood inside the stadium, both teams were still pressing for a winner with Derby coming the closest.
Johansson saved from Ebou Adams in the 75th minute and then denied Kane Wilson before the woodwork rescued Stoke in the closing minutes.
After Johansson saved from Jerry Yates, the striker sent the rebound against the bar before Nat Phillips followed up to strike the crossbar in a frantic scramble.
Derby head coach John Eustace said: “I’m very proud of the group. We were seven points off being safe six or seven weeks ago so to now finish 19th is a fantastic achievement.
“Huge respect to the players we work with every day. Without their efforts this would never have been possible
“Obviously the Blackburn game was a big turning point, it gave the lads a lot of confidence but the way the boys have dedicated themselves every day, it wasn’t done over a couple of games.
“We’ve had a lot of setbacks with injuries but the motto we brought to the club was we’re fighters not victims. There’s always going to be difficult moments and it’s important not to use excuses.”
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