The Potters were tipped to struggle when they won promotion from the Championship in 2008.

Pulis strengthened his squad before the start of the season but did not spend too much on any one player.

Delap feels the new arrivals have contributed to Stoke's success and thinks it could become easier to attract big-name players to the Britannia Stadium.

"We have not been throwing money everywhere, or spending £15million to £20million on players," the midfielder told Sky Sports News.

"The players that he has bought have come in and done very well and helped us in the Premier League."

Delap's long throw-ins have also been a key weapon for Stoke and he admits it is something that has helped him become a fans' favourite.

"It is part of my game and part of Stoke's game," he stated.

"I was getting requests from everywhere after the Arsenal game. I was asked to throw a Christmas pudding over a double-decker bus and how many buses could I throw the ball over."