THE WARN LEGACY

Neil: I aim to quit game as a winner

CARDIFF boss Neil Warnock believes a record-breaking eighth promotion will see him leave a lasting legacy.

Warnock’s second-placed side can finish the job with a win against Reading tomorrow.

A draw would still be enough if Fulham fail to beat Birmingham.

And if promotion specialist Warnock does it again, the 69-year-old reckons his expertise would earn him a special place in the history books.

Warnock said: “When you die and pass away, it’s nice to have something people will remember you by.

“That’s what I’ve strived for for many years – to get to the top.

“I was never good enough as a player, so I wanted to be a manager.

“And I’ve done it right from the bottom as a Sunday League manager, to Gainsborough and every division.

“I want to be remembered in the right way.

“But this will be my biggest achievement by an absolute mile, when you look at the state the club was in 18 months ago.

“To be challenging at this stage is a miracle, but miracles do happen and I’m hoping this can be another one.”

The first promotion of Warnock’s 38-year managerial career arrived when he took Scarborough into the League.

Back-to-back successes with Notts County followed and he found the winning formula again during spells at Huddersfield and Plymouth.

He took his beloved Sheffield United to the promised land in 2005 and repeated the trick with QPR seven years ago.

Now only Reading stand in his way of breaking a record shared by Graham Taylor, Dave Bassett and Jim Smith.

The Royals know a point will keep them up and Paul Clement is planning an overhaul of his entire squad if he leads them to safety.

He said: “I think there’s lots of areas of the team that need to be improved. We want to adjust the balance of the squad and improve on quality.”