Seventh heaven for Delap

Rory Delap has agreed a one-year contract extension - taking the 35-year-old long-throw specialist into a seventh season at Stoke.

Delap signed for the Potters in a £500,000 move from Sunderland, was part of the 2007/08 promotion-winning side and has gone on to play over 200 matches for the club. Manager Tony Pulis told stokecityfc.com: "Rory deserves this deal. It is important we look after those players who have been here since the start of this journey. It's not just what he does on the field; he's been an inspiration off the pitch as well. "He has played close to 600 games during his playing career and the vast majority of those have been in the top-flight and so he has offers so much more than just a long throw. He is the ultimate professional and it is important we look after certain players at the football club who started all this off." Delap was also delighted to agree new terms and said: "I'm chuffed to be honest. I wasn't sure what was going to happen this summer, so to get it all sorted out now, with the rest of the season to come, is fantastic for me. I've made no secret about the fact that I love it here at Stoke."