Russell Slade: "I have Nothing to hide and & Next Season"

Russell Slade Answers Gareth Rogers Questions today

Friday 17th April 2015


Rogers:Fans want to know if they will be challenging next term?

Slade:Everyone wants to be successful.

No one wants to be mid-table.

But sometimes before you get that success you have to regroup because if you don’t, people don’t think things can get worse, but they can.

Ask Wolves, Sheffield United and Coventry, ask them, things can.

They were all Premier League clubs that have gone down a league or two and not drawn a line.

We have, we have looked at things. Sometimes you have to take stock before you can move forward.

Fans don’t want to hear about stability these days, everyone wants to hear about success. But sometimes you have to stabilise.



Rogers:In 12 league games at home under you there are just two wins?

Rogers:Where did things go off track at home?


Slade:Sometimes there’s no logic to these things.

There was no logic to the fact the club had not won away from home for ages then we go on a run where we don’t lose for seven games.

There’s no logic sometimes as to why things go that way. It’s disappointing.

You want a strong foundation at home.

You want to be difficult to beat.

You want to be consistently picking up points at home.

Probably that’s been the most frustrating part of the latter part of the season.



Rogers:Is the home form the reason for the disappointing season?

Slade:Clearly if results had been more positive at home that would have pushed us up the table.

We will never know if that would have got us in the top six.

It has been disappointing. We had a clutch of games against top six sides and we failed to pick up results.

That proved costly.




Rogers:Do you get frustrated having to explain your actions all the time?


Slade:I am honest in all I do.

So it’s straight forward for me because there is nothing to hide.

It’s that simple?




Rogers:Is this a season that can’t end soon enough for you?

Slade:Not really because I’ve been looking to make progress right until the end. We’ve made some progress.

Even in the defeat at Ipswich I saw a lot of positive things.


We were competitive against a strong side. Out away form has been pleasing in terms of a positive.

The frustration has been at home because we do want to be winning in front of our own fans.

It’s important when teams come to Cardiff that there is a fear factor. You want to see that.




Rogers:Do you have a better idea of the job now looking to next season?

Rogers:Is it going to be pleasing to have a pre season?



Slade:Yes. It will give us time to regroup and look at our recruitment.

It will give us time in all areas of the club to address and review things before we move forward.

It will be an important time and one we need as we regroup and rebuild.

We will know what parameters we have financially and who we are bringing in.

" Russell Slade insists Cardiff City have maintained contact with Adam Le Fondre, with striker due to return in May "

17/04/15 By Steve Tucker

After scoring for Bolton in midweek, Le Fondre said he had no idea whether Cardiff wanted him or not and that he’d had no contact with the Bluebirds during his time at Bolton

Cardiff City manager Russell Slade and striker Adam Le Fondre have again disagreed over the on-going situation regarding the frontman’s loan at Bolton.

Le Fondre joined the Trotters in January and has proved a big hit in Lancashire firing his seventh goal in 14 games as Bolton drew with Charlton midweek.

Following that the 28-year-old gave his clearest indication yet that he felt his future lay with Wanderers, hinting that his Cardiff career could well be over.

He maintained he had no idea whether Cardiff wanted him or not and that he’d had no contact with the Bluebirds during his time at Bolton.

Slade, who is preparing his team for the visit of Millwall this weekend, hit back at Le Fondre’s claims insisting he had be told when to report back to Cardiff and that there was an ‘on-going dialogue’ between the Bluebirds and their player.

It is not the first Slade and Le Fondre have failed to see eye-to-eye over the loan deal. In January Le Fondre said he did not even know he was going on loan until told by Cardiff once the deal with Bolton had been done. Slade dismissed that suggestion insisting Le Fondre’s representatives had actually initially contacted him about a loan switch.

And Slade said Le Fondre’s claims this time too were wide of the mark

“It’s not right at all that we have had no contact with him,” said Slade.

“Adam has been contacted and he knows exactly when he is in to see me for a chat. I do believe he’s had dialogue via his agent with the secretary and the chief executive also. There is on-going dialogue there.”

Le Fondre himself seems to believe that his future might well lay at Bolton and he believes Trotters’ manager, Neil Lennon, would also like to keep him next season.

Slade said he understood Bolton might have an interest in Le Fondre beyond the current loan deal, but said he remained a Cardiff player for now.

“I can see why there is interest in him because he’s scored a few goals,” said Slade.

“He still has two years on his contract as a Cardiff City player. He’s back with us on May 5. Between now and then whether Bolton do approach us remains to be seen.”

Meanwhile Slade also dismissed reports linking his winger Craig Noone with a £2m move to Norwich.

The high-flying Canaries tried to sign Noone in January, but the deal fell through although it is being suggested now Alex Neil will reignite his interest in the 27-year-old this summer. Slade insisted there had been no contact so far.

The Cardiff manager commented: “He is a player we would like to keep. All that is speculation. We’ve had no contact from Norwich City and he’s our player at the moment.”