After defeat at home to West Ham, Shi said: "Gary, our coaching team and all the players have done a fantastic job this season that we are all rightly very proud of, especially under the circumstances, with many controversial decisions from match officials affecting the outcome of our games.
Despite a summer of change and four days of preparation for Gary and his staff, we surpassed last season's points with eight games to go. If it wasn't for a number of incorrect or contentious decisions we would be even further up the table.
For the other challenges, such as injuries to key attacking players and squad depth, the club can always keep learning and progressing every season, but for the standard and consistency of refereeing, it's something out of our control."