Neil: I’m backing my boys
NEIL WARNOCK wants to prove the bookies wrong yet again by keeping Cardiff in the Premier League.
But the Bluebirds boss admits even he wouldn’t back his boys to survive at the moment, given they are odds-on favourites for the drop.
Without a win in eight games, it is their worst start to a season in 29 years and that could become the worst in their 119-year history if they do not beat Fulham today.
But last season the Bluebirds were not given any hope of getting promoted to the top flight.
Warnock wants to use the three home matches in the next month to climb out of the relegation zone.
“We are 4-1 on to go down at the moment, so the bookies have already thrown us to the wolves,” said Warnock.
“If I was a betting man, I wouldn’t put money on Cardiff staying in the Premier League. But I would put others people’s money on it.
“Last year, I wouldn’t have put a penny on us getting promotion.
“I’d have said, ‘Keep your money in your pocket, don’t be stupid’. Yet some people won quite a lot of money.
“Why not another miracle? I look at the teams in the bottom three and just above, and see the pressure their managers and clubs are under given the money they have spent, and I think, ‘Why can’t we finish above three teams?’.”
Fulham, another of last season’s promoted sides, are first up in the hat-trick of home games this weekend, with Leicester and Brighton to come to the Welsh capital after a trip to Anfield to face Liverpool.
“I can’t remember having a worse start than this, even in the Sunday League,” added Warnock.
“We’ve really got to get some points out of these three home games to put pressure on the teams around us.
“The lads have got to decide if they want to stay in the Premier League – it’s time to stand up and be counted.
“Even though it looks bleak at the moment, we have an opportunity.
“This is definitely crunch time for us.
“We can get better results than we’ve had.
“It’s time to stand up and be counted and whoever is wearing the shirt has to do a bit more.”