Neil Warnock claims Cardiff City just one win short of his early Bluebirds target - but still wants January signings to ease drop fears -
By Chris Wathan
Thursday 1st December 2016
Neil Warnock has revealed Cardiff City are just one win behind where he expected the Bluebirds to be two months into his reign.
But, as fears grow that the club could yet be sucked into a long-term scrap for Championship survival, he has insisted he’s confident relegation won’t be an issue – providing he can make the signings he wants this January.
Cardiff have been generally impressing under Warnock with the veteran boss – who turned 68 on Thursday – picking up ten points from his seven games in charge since replacing Paul Trollope at the start of October.
Neil Warnock admits they'll have to scrap for points in the coming games
But a difficult run of fixtures – one that gets little easier with the visit of promotion hopefuls Brighton on Saturday – has seen Cardiff unable to pull away from the bottom three. Though just four points separate Cardiff in 23rd and Brentford in 16th, the defeat to Aston Villa has left some fans wondering if they need to be wary going into the Christmas period following three losses from the last four and ahead of a testing clash against the second-placed Seagulls.
Yet Warnock has calmed some of the concern, saying the side aren’t far off the targets he had in mind when he arrived in South Wales.
And while he admitted conceding soft goals and the inability to keep clean sheets is costing, he remains positive that staying within striking distance of rivals will allow him to make the major difference in January.
“It’s very tight and it’s been hell of a tough run,” Warnock told Talksport. “The boys have done really well and we’re only about three points less than I thought we would be on.
“It’s not easy straight away. I know some people think everything changes but it doesn’t really. When you can’t bring loan players in it’s so difficult to change anything, apart from when you get to the window. I always said to them if we can get into mid-December in touch I’m quite confident with two or three new acquisitions we’ll be alright.
“Because we have got some good players and the crowd have been fantastic and really behind us. It’s a good club, good facilities and it just wants to steady out this year.”
Warnock hit the ground running with victory over Bristol City in his first game in charge followed up by a point against Sheffield Wednesday and a convincing win at Forest.
But a surprise slip-up at home against Wigan and away-day defeats at Newcastle and Villa – either side of a good home win over Huddersfield – have provided something of a reality check.
It’s brought the importance of fixtures leading up to Christmas into sharp focus, the visit of Brighton followed by a trip to mid-table Ipswich and a string of games against sides around them in the table.
But the vastly experienced boss says he saw “light at the end of the tunnel” in some aspects of the performance against Villa, and knows tightening up at the back could be key against a Brighton side he believes challenges leaders Newcastle as the division’s best.
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