Former Port Vale midfielder and Sentinel columnist Robbie Earle has his say on the world of football

PETER Coates won't say it, Tony Pulis won't say it and I'm damn sure the fans won't be thinking it ... but Stoke going out of the Carling Cup is no bad thing for the club.

Staying in the Premier League is hard enough in your first season without the distraction of a cup run.

A trip to the semi-finals, or even Wembley, is the sort of distraction Stoke would love having been starved of much success since 1972, but it wouldn't have done their survival fight any good.

Pulis put out a strong side against Derby and I am not for one moment suggesting the players weren't trying their best. But it is very difficult to be at the top of your game for 38 Premier League games a season, let alone the cup matches.

Stoke and their fans have talked about little else than trying to stay up since they were promoted in May, so subconsciously, it would have been harder for the players to lift themselves against Derby.

Maybe that's why Ricardo Fuller had his worst game in front of goal all season. It's not that Ricardo wasn't bothered about scoring, but I wouldn't be surprised if he looks much sharper at St James' Park.

The importance of the game was reflected in the crowd as there were 8,000 fewer Stoke fans at the Britannia than had turned up for the sold out league game against Hull three days earlier.

If Stoke do stay up, then doing well in the cups is something they should seriously aim for. That's what Bolton did in 2004 when they got to the final.

There shouldn't be any hangover from the Derby defeat at Newcastle tomorrow, which is just as well because Stoke have a tough task against a side which has improved under my old Wimbledon boss Joe Kinnear.

Stoke were unlucky to turn up at St James' last year on the same day Kevin Keegan returned to the club.

But Keegan's X-factor was short-lived and I think Joe is giving the side some grit and steel which was lacking under previous regimes.

I thought the whole 'Joe Who' reaction when he was appointed was disrespectful, considering the job he did in the Premier League with Wimbledon.

Modesty aside, he worked with some damn good players for the Dons and moulded a team spirit which seemed to be sorely lacking when he took the job.

Much was made of his x-rated tirade against the press, but that was a calculated move, rather than a sign of him losing the plot. He gave the fans and the players a few home truths and won respect from them, if not all the press boys.

I know some of the players at Newcastle and they have taken to a manager who tells it like it is. Mind you, some of the foreign players have learned a few words which weren't in their phrase books.

Under Keegan, Newcastle were a team which could win 5-0 one week, lose 5-0 the next.

Under Kinnear, they have become a side capable of grinding out results. That was badly needed because they were in a mess when he took over and, despite the improvement, are far from safe from relegation.

I think the fans have appreciated the job he is doing and I don't see them turning on him or the team easily if Stoke go in front.

Newcastle fans have had unrealistic expectations, considering the club's lack of success over the years.

But, as an opposition player, I always found them to be supporters who would stick by their side during the game.

That makes Stoke's task even tougher, but I would expect a much-improved effort from Pulis's boys after their Derby disappointment.