Warnock on verge of going up for record eighth time
NEIL WARNOCK is standing on the brink of history as he looks to guide Cardiff back to the top flight.
He will celebrate a recordbreaking eighth promotion if the Bluebirds beat Reading on Sunday after this win at Hull saw them leapfrog Fulham back into second place.
The 69-year-old, whose first success came in the 1980s with Scarborough, admits he had his hands tied when he first took the Cardiff job.
With a controversial owner in Vincent Tan and a disillusioned fan base, Warnock had to call on every minute of his 38 years as a manager. Now, just 18 months later, 33,000 fans are expected to pack the Cardiff City Stadium for the season finale.
“It’s going to be a massive game for everybody,” said Warnock. “I don’t think you can realise what’s at stake yet. It’s great we’ve a home game in front of a packed stadium.”
Of the win against the Tigers, he said: “It’s as big a result as I’ve had in my career. My players never fail to amaze me. We keep surprising people, we get a blow but we keep getting back up.”
With Reading and Birmingham – Fulham’s finalday opponents – still in the relegation mix, City cannot ease up.
“Reading need a point and so do Birmingham,” said Warnock. “There’s no easy game for either of us next weekend. We’ve been there before where we are fighting for our lives, so let’s get on with it and see what happens.
“We’ve an amazing set of lads that I’ve put together and I’m really proud of that. It’s what I am good at, I enjoy putting teams together and building clubs back up.
“The whole club is together now. I spoke to Vincent before the game and everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet, it’s lovely.
“I’ve not had as big a job of turning a club around like this since Sheffield United. I had seven years to build something there, that was all fragmented behind the scenes.
“But I’ve only had 18 months here and it’s great to see the club now. Everyone keeps expecting us to fall away and the decisions are going for Fulham left, right and centre.
“A lot of teams might have been demoralised but they’re just a great bunch of lads. We’re not everyone’s cup of tea but we are like a rash, we aren’t going away.” Cardiff were ahead at the KCOM just after the half hour when captain Sean Morrison headed in a corner.
The game was in the balance until 10 minutes from time when Nathaniel Mendez-laing found Morrison and he curled home to settle Cardiff nerves.
Hull secured their safety earlier in the month and failed to test visiting keeper Neil Etheridge. Tigers defender Stephen Kingsley said: “Although the pressure was off, we still needed to put in a performance. That’s not good enough.”