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' CARDIFF CITY/RUSSELL SLADE/PRESS CONFERENCE TODAY '

Fri Feb 27, 2015 12:28 pm

' CARDIFF CITY/RUSSELL SLADE/PRESS CONFERENCE TODAY '

' TEAM NEWS & LATEST NEWS '
" CARDIFF CITY V WOLVES "
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Friday 27 February 2015

By Terry Phillips

Cardiff City boss Russell Slade sits down to talk financial accounts, injury news and the Championship.



Q: Have you seen the club accounts? Do they affect you?
RS: No, I haven’t seen them, but I have heard about them. Over last month or two we’ve had to make adjustments and the accounts are evidence of why we had to do that.

Fans don’t want to hear about cutbacks, but we can still move forward as a club. We do, though, want to move forward on a stable base financially.

We don’t want to get into a situation where the fair play rules kick in. It doesn’t add pressure from my point of view. At least you know where you are and where you stand. I knew the situation. That wasn’t a shock. There is still more work to be done in the summer when it will be about getting a balance. That won’t, though, make us a lesser group or a lesser team going forward.

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Q: Vincent Tan has made big financial commitments to Cardiff City. Do you sense his commitment to the club is still there?
RS: The figures on how much he has put into the club are staggering. That’s the amount of money and support he has given the football club. Do I see that changing? No I don’t. But I can see why he wants it to be run on a sound and financially viable basis.

Q: Will Vincent Tan be at game against Wolves?
RS: There is a possibility, but who knows. It would be nice to see him over for a game. He has threatened to be here at other games so we will have to wait and see.



Q: You were without both first-choice full-backs at Wigan. Scott Malone has a hamstring problem, while Lee Peltier was out with a calf strain. How are they?
RS: Peltier will train today, a light session. Malone will still be out and it’s another eight to 10 days for him. Peltier has an outside chance of being available against Wolves.

Joe Ralls played at left-back at Wigan. That’s not his accustomed position even though he has done it before. He had a great attitude and we were really pleased with him. He did a great job.



Q: Could you expand on the progress of Cardiff’s long-term injured players?
RS: Ben Turner has had a scan and that showed he is progressing, but that doesn’t change the length of time he will be out which is 10 to 12 weeks. Ben has done six to seven weeks so far and is making progress. Fabio is still not quite right, but he isn’t far away. The problem is aggravating him a little, but he is out doing light training. Saturday may be too soon, but I would be disappointed if he wasn’t available on Tuesday at Rotherham.

Kagisho Dikgacoi is still three or four weeks away from coming into the main group. Even then he will have a long way to go.

Anthony Pilkington has started doing warm-ups and our medical people are building him up.


Pilkington and Joe Mason are still with the medics. They have not passed them on to me yet.

They are both two or three weeks away from joining the main group.

I haven’t made an issue of it and won’t be making a big issue of it, but we had nine players unavailable for the Wigan game. They are all talented individuals who are not available to us right now.

Q: Cardiff City’s defensive record is much improved. Three clean sheets in the last four games and only two goals conceded in five fixtures. How do you explain that improvement?
RS: Our defensive record is better. When we were conceding so many goals, albeit against useful opposition, in January we had go back and make sure we were difficult to beat, resolute at the back.

We worked on the training ground and visually showed them positioning, what a sensible line is. A good line is. We need consistency in performance and that has rubbed off for a variety of reasons.

Bruno Manga celebrates Cardiff City's win at WiganBruno Manga
The partnership between Manga and Morrison is part of that. Manga has been a good influence since he came back (from the Africa Cup of Nations), Peltier has added solidity. It’s also good to have the skipper David Marshall back after his injury.

Manga is still adjusting to the nature of the game and the Championship. There are things we talk to him about, where he needs to improve, and that’s the same with every player. Now he’s having a run in the team he is looking a real player for us.

Q: Wolves are in form and scoring goals. How dangerous are they?
RS: They are hitting teams for three, four and five. Sako is in a rich vein of form and has lethal left foot. Dicko gets between people and has that bit of pace. There are not that many changes from teams that went up. Maybe three changes from the team up from League One.

They know what they are doing and are delivering what the manager wants. Wolves are delivering that at a frightening rate with the pace and power they have.

Q: Wolves have a Welsh manager in Kenny Jackett. How do you assess the job he has done?
RS: Wolves took a double slide, went to League One with an enormous budget for that level which had to be addressed. He has done that, lost big hitters on big money who probably weren’t delivering. He has put his stamp on it and has done a terrific job. Kenny has them moving forward again.

Kenny Jackett celebrates winning the League One title with Wolves
Q: When you look at how Wolves have fared since Kenny Jackett became manager are they a good example of short term pain and long term gain?
RS: Yes. Kenny was able to do that in League One, which may be easier than in Championship. That’s not a detrimental comment because he has done a great job, but he is seeing the benefits now.



Q: Cardiff are now 10 points clear of the relegation zone. Does that mean there is now no need for fans to worry?
RS: I am a forward thinking person. For me it’s about that one per cent improvement, every time we play. We must making a little progress collectively and consistently. Add up those one per cents and they make a difference. We have to build from a sound defensive base to deliver that and we have done that over the last five games.




Q: Eoin Doyle has yet to score for Cardiff. How do you assess him so far?
RS: He just needs a goal. Eoin has had good opportunities, but he has denied by really good saves, by Smithies at Huddersfield for example, and had one cleared off the line. His industry and work ethic excellent are excellent, while he needs a little bit of work on other areas including hold up play. If he gets that goal it will give him a big lift to go on and get more.