The Bluebirds were forced to settle for another season of mid-table mediocrity in the Championship after their league campaign was overshadowed by a remarkable run to Wembley.

Fowler told the club's official website: "In an ideal world getting promotion to the Premier League would have been fantastic. The FA Cup is a fantastic second for us if you will. Nobody gave us even a small chance of reaching or getting anywhere near the final. We've got there on merit and we've not been lucky in any game."

The former Liverpool striker has spent much of the season sidelined with a hip injury but could yet return to action for the Bluebirds' clash with Portsmouth on May 17.

He added: "Ideally to be able to figure in a Cup final I'd like to play five or six games before that, but when I had the operation in early January, my actual aim was to try and get into contention for the play-offs, as the FA Cup was miles from the thoughts of anyone.

"We've reached the final now and unfortunately not made our way into the play-offs, so my short-term aim is to continue to work hard in training and to see what happens from there. Hopefully everything will be ok."