PHIL Parkinson has praised the role played by City's physio staff in patching up their FA Cup heroes.

Matt Barrass and Chris Royston had their work cut out to give running repairs to Rory McArdle, who needed five stitches in an early head wound, and Jon Stead during the fifth-round win over Sunderland.

Parkinson said: "Sunday's victory was a great team effort and Matt and Chris deserve a special mention for how they got McArdle back on the pitch so quickly.

"Rory had an open wound and you've got to be so careful – but they did a brilliant job on the side of the pitch to patch that up. It was a great indication of the calmness of Matt in that situation.

"At half-time, along with the club doctor, they were overseeing Rory and Steady getting stitched up. They gave those two players confidence to go back out for the second half and continue to play as well as they did.

"Those are the kind of things that sometimes go unnoticed but having people like Matt and Chris with their experience in that situation was very important."