Whelan (right) joined Stoke in 2008

Stoke's Glenn Whelan says he is not plotting revenge against former club Manchester City in the FA Cup final.

The Irishman arrived at Eastlands aged 15 but never established himself and moved to Sheffield Wednesday in 2004.

Asked if there were any hard feelings now, he said: "Not at all. I'd like to thank everyone who was there then because they made me the player I am."

The 27-year-old midfielder added: "I don't want to look back and say I'd change anything. I'm glad where I am."

Whelan made only one first-team appearance for Manchester City, in a Uefa Cup qualifier against Welsh side TNS, before moving to Wednesday on a free transfer.

"Kevin Keegan was manager at the time. I'd been out on loan and there was interest from a couple of clubs about possibly taking me," the midfielder recalled.

"To be fair, Keegan was honest. He came to me and said, 'Listen, I don't think you're going to play in the first team, you should sit down and speak to people'.

"Luckily for me, Sheffield Wednesday was one of the clubs. It was probably the best thing to happen to me."

At Hillsborough, Whelan became a standout performer and established himself as a central cog with an eye for goal.

In January 2008, Stoke paid £500,000 for the player and six months later he found himself in the Premier League.

"I possibly could have stayed [at Man City] and played in the reserves for another year but who's to say those chances would have come round again," he continued.

Meanwhile, Stoke captain Ryan Shawcross has admitted that big-spending Manchester City are favourites to win Saturday's final.

Stoke skipper Shawcross scored in the fifth-round victory over Brighton

The Potters, who will appear in their first ever FA Cup final, are eighth in the Premier League, 16 points and four places behind their final opponents.

"We're under no illusions," Shawcross told BBC Radio Stoke. "There's a very good team in front of us and they're going to go in as massive favourites.

"We'll be underdogs but if we perform well we've always got a chance."

Stoke drew 1-1 against a City side managed by Roberto Mancini at the Britannia Stadium in November and knocked them out of the FA Cup at the fifth-round stage last season after a replay.

The Potters ran out convincing 5-0 winners in their semi-final against Bolton, an experience that the Stoke squad will benefit from, according to Shawcross.

"We've experienced the changing rooms, we've been to Wembley and we've experienced the fans being there," the 23-year-old defender stated.

"I'm sure there will be some similarities so we can take that on board and hopefully use that to our advantage."

Stoke will be aiming to win their first major trophy in 39 years, while it is 35 years since Manchester City won a major honour.

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