Warnock demands more fight from Cardiff

LONDON: Cardiff City need players willing to fight “in the trenches” to stave off relegation from the Premier League, manager Neil Warnock said after Tuesday’s damaging 3-0 defeat by Everton.

Gylfi Sigurdsson and Dominic Calvert-Lewin were both on target as Everton won at the Cardiff City Stadium, leaving the Welsh side a point and a place above the relegation zone.

Cardiff could find themselves back in the bottom three by the time they take the field at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, with Southampton, who were a place below them, played second-bottom Fulham late yesterday.

“I know my team for the Wolves game and I want people who will be in the trenches because I was let down by one or two tonight,” Warnock told reporters. “I’m not going to throw the towel in and I’ll make sure we’re ready.”

After beating Bournemouth and Southampton in succession to lift themselves out of the relegation zone following the death of new signing Emiliano Sala in a plane crash last month, Cardiff have now lost two matches in a row.

“We’ve got to make our own luck,” Warnock added. “We’ve got 10 games left, difficult games, and people will probably be rubbing their hands now at playing us, but as I’ve said to the lads we’re not going down without a fight.”

Everton boss Marco Silva, who has found himself under pressure after three consecutive league defeats, said: “It was an important three points.

“After the second goal I saw our players playing with more freedom, with more confidence and in that moment you could see the kind of football we can play.”

Sigurdsson is now the leading Icelandic goalscorer in the Premier League, moving two clear of the 55 scored by former Chelsea player Eidur Gudjohnsen.

Huddersfield remain rock bottom, but did secure their first win under Jan Siewert thanks to Steve Mounie’s 91st-minute winner to beat Wolves 1-0.