STEPHEN Darby has not been distracted by talk of a move to Bolton, Stuart McCall today insisted.

The City defender was the subject of late interest in the transfer window from Phil Parkinson, who wanted to take his former skipper in exchange for striker Jamie Proctor.

McCall rejected the swap suggestion and made it clear that he did not intend to lose a key member of his Valley Parade squad.

Darby currently finds himself behind Tony McMahon in the pecking order at right back – but McCall believes there is very little between the two defenders and has no concerns that the speculation might have turned his head.

He said: "It's not affecting Darbs. The window is closed and he's not going anywhere. He's a terrific lad and a valuable member of the squad. I'm sure he's still got a big part to play.

"Stephen Darby has done nothing wrong this season and he gave another good performance at Oxford last week. There's a good battle between those two at right back. They are both very good professionals and full backs."

While City have competition for the right-back slot, it has become a problem position for promotion rivals Bolton. Regular choice Lawrie Wilson will miss the Valley Parade clash ten days from now after suffering tendon damage at the weekend which will keep him out for ten weeks.

Parkinson had looked to use Darby as a lever when his old club asked about Proctor – and indicated that the players were both willing for the deal to go through.

That public comment has not gone down particularly well with City fans, yet McCall has no doubts about Darby's focus.

"I've had a couple of discussions with Darbs," said the Bantams chief. "I had one pre any link with any club about a week prior to that.

"He's like a lot of lads who are coming up to the end of their contracts and we were talking about the future. As I've said, a lot of clubs these days wait to see what league they are going to be in.

"But it will be interesting to know how Phil knew they were both happy with it."

City are hoping that Alex Jones will not need surgery on his hip injury. The striker saw a consultant yesterday afternoon after resting it over the weekend.

McCall is keeping his fingers crossed that an anti-inflammatory injection in the area where the cartilage has been torn will settle it down.

He said: "Alex hasn't felt any more discomfort since he's been able to rest it, so we are hopeful. There is a chance an injection in the right area rather than surgery might be the way forward.

"It's obviously frustrating for Alex but he is a bubbly and willing lad. He's certainly shown in training that he is sharp in and around the goal. Hopefully he won't be out too long."

Meanwhile, Mark Marshall has been shortlisted for the Sky Bet League One player of the month award for January.

The winger is up against Josh Morris, who has been nominated for the third time with Scunthorpe, Fleetwood's Cian Bolger and James Vaughan of Bury.