CRYSTAL Palace midfielder Darren Ambrose refused to be drawn into speculation surrounding his manager’s future by insisting the players remain focused on tomorrow’s game at Villa Park.

While all the headlines have been about Neil Warnock’s future and the club’s financial problems, Ambrose only wanted to talk about matters on the pitch, starting with the cup replay.

He said: “It’s a big game. It’s come about from a big game at home and now we have got a massive tie at Villa Park.

“The lads are in good spirits.

“It doesn’t really matter about who it is, the cup is the cup.

“They are a good team and they showed that at Selhurst Park. They are up there battling for fourth in the Premier League and they deserve to be there.

“But as we showed at Selhurst Park, we have got enough to compete.

“We have all got belief now.

“A quarter-final tie is on the horizon against Reading or West Brom, so hopefully we can do it.”

Ambrose revealed rumours about whether Warnock would stay or go have not been raised on the training ground, adding everyone is more concerned with what is happening on the pitch.

He said: “There hasn’t been much spoken about it as no one really knows what is going on.

“There has been nothing said through the manager, or through the players, so all we can do is take it as speculation and get on with our jobs.

“It’s the FA Cup and it’s a massive tie.

“We are going up there as underdogs again but we like that and we have pulled off a lot of shocks this year. We are looking for another one.

“The lads and the manager are concentrating on tomorrow’s game and looking to get a good result.”