Stoke chairman Peter Coates says the club made errors in the transfer market last summer but no one is to blame.
Despite many predicting instant relegation, The Potters enjoyed a hugely successful debut season in The Premier League, finishing 11 points clear of relegation in 12th position.
Signings such as Abdoulaye Faye, Thomas Sorensen, Danny Higginbotham, Matthew Etherington and James Beattie played a key role in their survival, but record buy Dave Kitson – who joined for £5.5 million from Reading – failed to make an impact.
However, although he believes the club did not do as well as expected overall in the market, Coates feels it was inevitable that some deals would not work out and is refusing to point the finger.
“What was difficult at the start of the season was getting players in,” he told The Sentinel.
“In that regard, we probably didn’t do as well as we normally do, but I understand the circumstances and the reasons.
“We had to operate knowing we couldn’t use the loan system we had used so well in the past.
“Therefore, we had to have a sufficient number of players in the squad to compensate. I’m not saying every deal was great, but these things happen.”
He added: “Dave Kitson’s experience with us wasn’t what we would have all wished for, but that happens in football.
“It’s not unique. Sometimes it works with a new player coming in, sometimes it doesn’t. It’s the nature of the game we’re in.
“I don’t credit fault to anyone.”
Kitson, 29, rejoined Reading on loan after failing to score in his 18 appearances for Stoke but he is set to return to the Britannia Stadium following the departure of Steve Coppell.