Mick McCarthy on why he's well placed to get the best out of Cardiff City and Wales striker Kieffer Moore as he sets ambitious goal target
The Cardiff City boss has already played a key role in Kieffer Moore's development
Monday 8th February 2021
One reporter suggested to Mick McCarthy last week that top scorer Kieffer Moore was now Cardiff City's talisman ahead of the weekend's Severnside derby.
McCarthy agreed, although many admittedly may argue that with Robert Glatzel's departure and the relative inexperience of Max Watters and Mark Harris, it wasn't a difficult conclusion to draw.
That said, one cannot overlook the outstanding standard of Moore's performances this season.
In an otherwise difficult and disappointing campaign, the Wales international has proved a consistent bright spot and has arguably emerged as one of the best strikers in the Championship.
Indeed, to catch the eye of the new gaffer so early on wouldn't exactly be a surprise.
But, as it turns out, McCarthy's admiration for the player goes back long before he arrived in south Wales.
Many have understandably repeatedly trotted out the line of just how much of a steal Moore was at £1.5m, but how about £20,000?
That's the comparatively paltry sum McCarthy parted with to bring the striker to Ipswich Town in 2017.
McCarthy clearly saw something there in the then 23-year-old striker and now, five years on, the pair are reunited, much to the delight of the Yorkshireman - and perhaps Terry Connor, who seemingly put in plenty of hard yards with the player during those days at Portman Road.
Speaking after the win at Ashton Gate, McCarthy explained:
MICK McCARTHY:
"I inherited him here, but I did sign him for Ipswich from Forest Green. I know TC [Terry Connor] put a lot of work into him while he was there.
"Of course, he went off to Rotherham and scored goals. Went off to Barnsley and scored goals. Wigan, he scored goals.
"And he's doing it here.
"So yeah, I'm very fortunate that I've inherited him again as I've told him once before."
The relationship with Connor is only likely to strengthen over the coming weeks, with McCarthy clearly eager to see Moore go up to another level for Cardiff this season, believing the striker is more than capable of following in the footsteps of another one of the Championship's hotshots.
"Ivan Toney scored his 20th goal for Brentford when I was watching them the other night," he added. "That's what someone said.
"So, there's a target. Kieffer's pretty grounded. TC will be working with him in front of goal.
"He's as good a striking coach as I've seen and hopefully he can get more and more."
It should all be music to the ears of Cardiff fans.
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