Cardiff boss Dave Jones saluted Peter Whittingham after the midfielder's sparkling hat-trick sunk Sheffield United.

Whittingham has now scored 12 goals this season but Jones revealed there is no chance of him being fazed by his fine form.

"If you saw Peter in the dressing room you wouldn't think he had scored a hat trick," said Jones.

"He just sat in there with a cup of tea.

"He has this demeanour about him but the work-rate and quality that he showed was absolutely superb."

Jay Bothroyd was also on target in the 4-3 win, with Darius Henderson scoring twice for the Blades and James Harper netting late on.