Gareth Barry insists Manchester City will respect Stoke

Manchester City midfielder Gareth Barry insists they will take nothing for granted against Stoke in the FA Cup final.

Barry, 30, put in the hard yards in the dramatic 1-0 victory over Manchester United on Saturday at Wembley.

Now the England international wants City to repeat that spirited performance on May 14 and end a 35-year wait for a major trophy.

Barry said: "The victory means so much and you could tell by the celebrations. But the players, in the back of our minds, know we've won nothing yet.

"The final is going to be as tough or even tougher. The pressure will be more on us, so we've got to learn from the United game and take that into the final."

Barry refused to be drawn on recent comments by Joey Barton in which the Newcastle midfielder ridiculed him as "a teacher's pet"

He said: "You approach every game trying to do your best. I always do. If you get criticism, you get criticism.

"That's the game. You try and respond to it. I always give 100%. If it's good enough, you get selected again. If it's not... I don't really want to speak about another professional, positive or negative."

Yaya Toure scored the winner in the 52nd minute and it was game over for United's dream of the treble 20 minutes later when Paul Scholes was sent off.

The last time City lifted silverware was in 1976 when the League Cup was brought back to their old Maine Road ground.

Barry, 30, said: "It is a massive moment for the club to reach the final. It has been a long wait.

"So it is important now that we win it. The next game is going to be just as tough, with the pressure maybe more on us.

"It is about winning that first trophy. It was mentioned at the beginning of the season.

"If we can win that trophy, then maybe more will follow. The first one is always the most difficult one."

Barry insists the result proves the players are united despite various training ground bust-ups.

"There were a few great individual performances but it was the perfect team performance, " he said.

"We all stuck together, as you have to do to beat Manchester United. Hopefully that will show we are together as a group."