Cardiff City manager Dave Jones has saluted fit-again midfielder Joe Ledley for showing "great character and personality" as the Bluebirds bid for a place in the Championship play-offs.
Joe, who is out of contract at the end of the season, made an earlier than expected return to the team after having operations on both hips, and is likely to start at Queens Park Rangers tomorrow, when a win will clinch a top six spot.
Dave said: "Joe is employed here, and he hasn't let anybody down. He's out of contract at the end of the season and it's his prerogative to do what he thinks is right for himself - I haven't got a problem with that.
"The chairman has put the offer to him, the offer is on the table and if Joe wants to accept, that's great. If he doesn't we'll keep chipping away until the day he decides what he wants to do. That's the life of a footballer.
"We missed him when he wasn't playing and if he decides to leave, then we'll miss him again. But there's a saying: The king is dead, long live the king. You've always got to put someone else in the shirt ,and then it will be up to that person.
"I've never worried about losing players. It's always a concern, but never a worry because it gives somebody else an opportunity.
"Joe will have a decision to make, and whether that decision goes in our favour or against us, my attitude will never change towards him.
"Joe gives everything he's got. That's been proved by him trying to get back as quickly as possible. If he didn't have any feeling for this football club, he could have taken his time. We wouldn't have known any better. He could have said he was feeling a twinge here and there and we wouldn't have known, but he's not that type of person.
"You get to know people well when you live with them for a long time and Joe's been at this club a long time. The two things he has got are great character and great personality.
"I've got nothing but admiration for what he's done in his short career. He's a young player and he's fulfilled a lot of his potential. He's captained his country and played in this division for a long, long time.
"He'll want to ply his trade at the top level, and if we can give him that, great. If we can't, then I've no doubt that he will move on."
Turning to Saturday's match, Joe said: "Nobody is getting carried away. We know what's at stake and there's a quiet buzz about the place, and we're confident without being over-confident.
"We've come through a rough patch, it's been a tough season and the players know their responsibilities.
"If we get a play-off place tomorrow, it won't take the pressure off because we've got to keep our form going. We want to continue playing well, we don't want to drop off because it's difficult to pick it up again. We want to keep going, keep winning games and keep up the momentum and the confidence. There's nothing better than winning to give you confidence.
"But we're not there yet and until we are, we'll assess it and take it from there.
"We had 23 players training yesterday and didn't know what to do with them all. It was quite a change and a good change. The only ones out of contention now are Gavin and Miguel. Everyone else is up and running and that's fantastic for us. We could have played an in-house game, which we've not be able to do probably since day one of pre-season.
"Huds has been around while he has been injured and has been a big influence. He's played a proper captain's role, and that has helped.
"Having players back is a nice headache to have. The real headaches are when you don't know what team you're going to put out because you haven't got enough players. I'll take a full squad any day. Players get upset when you leave them out, but one of the good things about this season has been that when we've had to switch things round, the players have accepted it.
"We hear all the rumours about people not looking happy because they're not playing, but I don't want them to look happy, I want them to be disappointed and then show the professionalism that is needed, and we've had that all season."
Dave takes on old foe Neil Warnock tomorrow, and the Cardiff boss said: "Wherever Neil has gone, he's done a fantastic job and I've got a lot of respect for him. I've had my run-ins with him many times but every time after the game it's done and over with.
"He's got a big job on his hands at QPR and must make sure he gets past the six-month mark, and then he's got his feet under the table.
"No doubt they'll give us a tough game and I don't expect to be given anything except after the game when he'll give me a drink. That's the only time Neil will give you anything free! Anything we get, we'll have to earn.
"They've got some good players there and it won't be easy. They're not safe from relegation and Neil will have them fired up, but it's in our hands. We'll take the game to them as much as we can. I wish him nothing but the best - except on Saturday."
