Ashley Ward prepared to put himself on the line again for City tomorrow, insisting: "I've never tried to beat a path out of here."

Ward's on-off move to Barnsley may have dominated the headlines but the centre-forward has not let the speculation put him off his game.

And as he tries to steer City to a third straight win in the Yorkshire derby at Valley Parade, Ward remained unfazed by the transfer talk.

City have announced the deal is dead after failing to agree "exit terms" with the striker, who is in no hurry to get away.

Ward said: "You have to put any off-the-field activities to one side and get on with the game. It's no problem for me to do whatever the situation.

"I suppose it is a bit unsettling and I missed a bit of training which I didn't want. But I've been here long enough just to carry on as normal and I'm happy to keep doing that.

"It's been a bit hectic but the main thing is the football. We got a good result the other night and we want to do the same tomorrow."

The well-travelled frontman nearly joined Sheffield Wednesday when he left Barnsley for Blackburn. And he is expecting a tough battle against a side just hovering above the bottom three.

"It's a massive game for them and being a Yorkshire derby we should have no problem getting up for it.

"The pitch doesn't look like it's going to be much firmer than the other night so there should be a load of tackles with hopefully a little bit of football in between."

Ward scored his 11th goal of the season in the 4-0 thrashing of Gillingham when Danny Cadamarteri marked his debut by also hitting the net.

Both linked up well against Nottingham Forest on Tuesday and Ward sees a blossoming partnership with the ex-Everton hitman.

He said: "Danny looks a good player. He knows how to play centre-forward and has got a bit of experience for his age.

"He's obviously got the pace to get behind defenders and it's worked quite well so far - played two, won two!

"But it's important generally that the team keep the good run going. It was embarrassing to the squad to see the position we were in.

"The manager is doing a particularly good job since he's come in with Ian Banks.

"We've got some good players, everyone knows that, as well as a great team in the treatment room at the moment. If we can get them all fit at the same time, we'll have a decent chance."