City players have been told to focus on survival and block out any off-the-field drama.

The squad found out last night that Gordon Gibb had quit as

chairman.

Bryan Robson delivered the news after being briefed in a phone call from chief executive Julian Rhodes.

The City boss informed the players as they sat down for dinner at their hotel in Norwich, where they were preparing for today's game against the First Division leaders.

It hardly seems the best pre-match pep talk for a side who are lodged in the relegation zone, eight points away from safety.

But the players are determined not to become side-tracked by club politics as they scrap for survival.

Striker Andy Gray said: "We've got to do the business on the pitch, what goes on off it is nothing to do with us.

"With our league position we've got enough on our plate to worry about without thinking about things that we have no control over."

City went into the Carrow Road clash having lost six of their last seven games. Their last away win was four months ago.

Gibb publicly blasted the players after the loss at Sunderland on Boxing Day, accusing them of lacking the effort and application that the board were putting in to keep the club

afloat.

His remarks were understood to have annoyed many in the dressing room.

Managing director Shaun Harvey does not believe Gibb's departure will have a negative effect on the players.

Harvey said: "The biggest thing they have got to contribute is some results on the pitch. They don't need to think about what's happening off the field, it's what they do on it that matters."

And City striker Alun Armstrong today insisted: If anyone can keep City up it's Robson.

Armstrong, back for his second spell under Robson, sees the manager as the key weapon in the desperate fight to beat the drop.

The on-loan frontman said: "He's been through this sort of thing before and knows what it takes to get out of it. He knows the importance of keeping everyone calm and making sure that confidence remains good. It would be a fantastic achievement if the club can turn it around and in Robson they have the best man for the job."

l The Crystal Palace away match, scheduled for Tuesday, March 16, has been brought forward to Saturday, January 24.