The manager wouldn’t speak about the prospect of a trip to Old Trafford. And his assistant, Alex Rae, was toeing the same line when he sat down to speak about an important trip to the Potteries this weekend.

“The manager has banned any talk of Manchester United,” he said. “There is a lot more at stake here. The cup tie will take care of itself next week, but every bit focus this week has been purely on Stoke away.

“We have to focus on the here and now. The players are as motivated for this weekend as they are for the cup tie. Professional motivation should lie within, so it shouldn’t matter if you’re playing someone at the bottom of the league or a team of the magnitude of Manchester United.

“And as a group, we’re focusing game by game. The initial target was to get to 50 points - that was set by the gaffer. And we’ve still got a bit of work to get there.

“We’re competing in every game but there was a disappointment on the back of last weekend, having been in a good position against QPR. Yet there were a lot of positives to take from that game and take into this weekend’s trip to Stoke.

“Our focus is on the here and now…and we have a job to do this weekend!”