Stoke City manager Michael O'Neill has refused to be drawn into a war of words with Middlesbrough manager Neil Warnock about the state of the Potters' away dressing room.

Speaking after his side's 1-0 defeat to Stoke at the Bet365 Stadium on Saturday afternoon, Warnock had hit out at the state of the away dressing room his 'Boro team were given, claiming he would not have kept animals in it.

O'Neill however, says he does not believe that to have been the case, and has claimed that Warnock did not mention the situation to him at any point during the game.

Responding to a question about the dressing room was as bad as was claimed by Warnock, O'Neill was quoted by The Stoke Sentinel as saying: “Not that I’m aware of, but, I found it a bit of a strange comment. Neil didn’t mention anything to me before or after the game."

It seems however, as though O'Neill is reluctant to be drawn into any sort of feud with Warnock, and is instead focussed on his side's clash at home to Cardiff this evening, as he went on to add: “His comments in the wake of a defeat are basically down to himself. Our focus is now on Cardiff. That’s where our focus lies.”

Following that victory over Warnock's side at the weekend, Stoke go into that match with the Bluebirds fifth in the Championship table, just two points adrift of an automatic promotion spot.

The Verdict

You can't blame O'Neill for not wanting to get dragged into a war of words here.

With games coming thick and fast, and Stoke possessing a decent chance of promotion at the minute, distractions such as this are not what the Potters want.

However, it is slightly surprising, given how much he did make of it, that Warnock supposedly did not have anything to say to O'Neill about the state of the dressing rooms, and given the 'Boro's boss' nature, he may have something to say about that claim, meaning this might not be over just yet.