The City boss said: "It's still a good achievement to get to the play-offs and I wish people would stop knocking us because we've not got automatic.
"What about the other 20 clubs that haven't got it either?
"We've worked so hard this season. No-one thought we'd be anywhere near it with the transfer embargo that was on us.
"It's still a good achievement, and I'm sure the other three teams will all be saying exactly the same. I don't think there's anything to be ashamed of or anything to be disappointed in."
Burnley boss Eddie Howe said: "I thought we deserved to win. We were excellent, we set out to pass the ball, keep the ball, and try to frustrate Cardiff. I thought we did that really, really well.
"I think we leave the season with a feeling of what could have been. You look at us play at full flow, as we were at times in this game, and you think 'what a team'.
"But then you concede the goal at the end, and you just think that you need to have the consistency for the full 90 minutes every game, home and away. That's what we're going to strive for next season.
"It was a great goal. It was a fantastic ball by Andre Bikey and a fantastic finish by Jay Rodriguez."
The Clarets finished eighth and failed to live up to their pre-season billing as one of the favourites for promotion.
Howe added: "I'm not satisfied with eighth because we want to finish higher.
"We're always striving for more, and we want to hit the ground running next year."