SOL LOVES WAR ZONE

Cardiff v Burton 3pm

NEIL WARNOCK’S persistence finally paid off when he signed Sol Bamba.

And the Cardiff talisman (above, with his manager) wants to reward Warnock by helping him seal a record eighth promotion.

Reaching the Premier League for the first time would be the “icing on the cake” for defender Bamba, 33, on a personal level.

It would also more than justify his decision to wait over a month to sign for Warnock at Cardiff after his Leeds exit in 2016.

Bamba said: “He was on the phone from minute one and said, ‘Just wait for me. I will find a club and sign you’.

“When I was at Leicester he was at Leeds and wanted me, but I went to Turkey.

“When he was at QPR and at Crystal Palace he tried to sign me, but we were always missing each other. It came together at Cardiff and we are happy about it.

“Playing in the Premier League would be the icing on the cake for me. The gaffer will get the record, too.”

Bamba describes

Warnock as a father figure who has lived up to his promise to make him an even better player.

And the admiration is mutual. One of Warnock’s most memorable soundbites this season came when he labelled Bamba a better defender than Liverpool’s £75million Virgil van Dijk.

“That is the gaffer being the gaffer,” Bamba laughed.

“You know he can come out with quotes like that.”