' We are here to stay '

' Cardiff City 'here to stay' in Premier League after shocking Manchester United, says Peter Odemwingie '
26th Nov 2013.


Bluebirds striker Peter Odemwingie insists Cardiff City will still be in the Premier League next season after Sunday's last-gasp draw


Peter Odemwingie reckons Cardiff City are “here to stay” in the Premier League after shaking Manchester United to the core.

Kim Bo-Kyung’s injury-time equaliser gave the Bluebirds a precious point as the champions were held 2-2 on Sunday.

But Odemwingie believes Kim’s leveller ran deeper than that as it proved to people that Cardiff belong in the top-flight.

“Belonging in the Premier League was the first thing that came into my mind when we equalised,” he said.


“The joy around the stadium, I felt like Cardiff is here to stay. There is a lot of work to be done and confidence is the key.

“This is the first year in the league but the performance we showed we are not like the struggling sides. Sometimes we don’t show the best football but the spirit of the team is very strong.

“I have been in situations where everyone improves and you become a very solid side in the Premier League.”


Post-match talk centred on Wayne Rooney’s kick at Jordon Mutch with the England striker receving a yellow card rather than seeing red,

Rooney - who then put United ahead and set up the second for Patrice Evra - took to Twitter later to accept that his tackle was bad but criticised Sky pair Martin Tyler and Graeme Souness for their comments.

“Just watched game back,” said Rooney, who will avoid any retrospective action from the FA over the incident. “I agree mine was bad tackle and ref dealt with it. And Martin Tyler didn’t shut up about it all game.”

Rooney referred to Souness as ‘Sourness’ and pointed to the pair’s refusal to criticise Gary Medel for an apparent slap in the face to Marouane Fellaini.

With Premier League high-flyers Arsenal coming to town on Saturday, the striker said: "Maybe we do play better against the bigger sides.

“It’s a bit of a different game and they let you have the ball a bit more than in ordinary games, so it makes it more interesting for the fans and the players.

“Then a team-mate shows some brilliance and that inspires you as a team to keep playing well. That’s what makes the difference playing bigger teams.”

You don’t get anywhere in the Premier League fearing the opposition in front of you.

But Odemwingie said Bluebirds boss Malky Mackay rammed home the point before kick-off on Sunday that it was a case of respecting United, not being overawed by opponents with the names Rooney, Ferdinand and Evra on the teamsheet.

“Before this match the manager reminded us of the games against Man City and even the ones we did not win, like Tottenham when we did very well against a good side even though we lost,” said Odemwingie.

“So he said we can do it and now we just have another game where we can remind ourselves that we can play to the last minute.

“We can now keep the belief as we equalised in the 90th minute, so in a situation like that again we are still going to look for the free-kicks and try and get the goal.

“But I think it was a deserved point. The stats were good with our possession and we made a lot of positive effort and scoring two goals is a reflection of our effort.


“They are champions of the Premier League with quality players.

“To create chances against a very clever side is very difficult so we can only be proud of our performance.”

Odemwingie also feels the weekend is something tangible for Cardiff to build on in the coming weeks, trips to Stoke and Crystal Palace following the Arsenal game before a return to home comforts against West Bromwich Albion.

“It is one of the performances we can think about before going into important games,” he said.

“Of course, to come back in 90th minute and not to lose faith, keep working hard, play good football can only inspire us to grow in confidence.

“The joy around the stadium when we scored the second goal...I felt like Cardiff is here to stay. There is a lot of work to be done and confidence is the key.

“This is the first year in the league but we showed we are not like the struggling sides.

“Sometimes we don’t show the best football, but the spirit of the group is very strong and that is what will see us through the season.”