FIVE AIM HIGH AT BLUEBIRDS
NEIL Warnock has spent almost a week with his Cardiff City squad as they continue to prepare for the 201718 Championship campaign.
The Yorkshireman has already added six new additions to his squad, with Lee Camp, Neil Etheridge, Callum Paterson, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, Danny Ward and Loic Damour all making the switch to the Bluebirds.
While Cardiff dramatically transformed their fortunes on the pitch following Warnock’s arrival at the club during the previous campaign, they will need to continue to improve next season if they are to stand any chance of gaining promotion into the Premier League.
And ahead of the new season, we took a look at five players who will be determined to prove they are worth a place in Warnock’s starting XI next season.
Junior Hoilett
The Canadian winger joined the club just days after Warnock was confirmed as Paul Trollope’s successor, arriving at Cardiff on a Bosman deal after being released by the Yorkshireman’s former club Queens Park Rangers last summer.
He scored just two goals in 33 appearances for the Bluebirds last season, netting in the home wins against Huddersfield and Rotherham.
Having just put pen to paper on a new deal that will see him remain in the Welsh capital for another year, it’s clear to see Warnock has plenty of faith in Hoilett.
And he’ll certainly be looking to improve on his goal tally and number of assists (4) from the previous campaign, especially as Mendez-Laing has been brought in from Rochdale to fight Hoilett and Kadeem Harris for a wing berth.
While it was hardly spectacular, a solid debut season will certainly help, and it does seem to feel like Hoilett is capable of shifting up another gear next term and proving why he has so much Premier League experience on his CV.
Greg Halford
The midfielder became Warnock’s first signing in the January window, with goalkeeper Allan McGregor also joining the club on loan from Hull at the beginning of the year.
He made 17 appearances in the second half of the campaign after joining from Warnock’s former side Rotherham, but struggled to hit top form having admitted he had been playing with a ruptured ankle ligament.
Halford will certainly benefit from a full pre-season at Cardiff’s Vale Resort training base as he looks to start next season free of the problems that blighted his first few months with the Bluebirds.
Speaking in March, Halford said: “I probably came back too early. It’s still there. It’s been frustrating – since I joined there’s been certain movements I’ve not liked doing and it’s played on my mind.
“Just striking the ball over 30 yards, well, I just couldn’t do it. It’s only over the last three weeks I’ve been able to start doing it. It’s still there and I’m probably only playing 70-75%.”
At 32 years of age, Halford is entering the twilight years of his playing career, and the forthcoming season represents the best opportunity he’ll have of being in a
squad that gains promotion into England’s top flight.
Kadeem Harris
Like fellow wideman Hoilett, Harris has also signed a new deal with the Bluebirds, putting pen to paper on a new contract that keeps him at Cardiff City Stadium until 2019.
It’s remarkable to think that at just 24 years of age, Harris has already been with the club for more than five years, enjoying his most productive campaign last time out by scoring four goals and setting up four others for his team-mates.
As with Hoilett, Harris will have the added pressure of new boy Mendez-Laing breathing down his neck for a place in Cardiff’s starting line-up next season.
And after handing striker Kenneth Zohore an ultimatum last season - a move that paid dividends as the Dane struck 11 times between January and May - Warnock did the same with winger Harris.
He certainly improved under Warnock’s tutelage last term, and the Cardiff faithful will be eager to see him continue his rise next season.
Lee Peltier
The capture of right-back Callum Paterson from Hearts last month was a real statement of intent from Warnock.
The Scot nine goals in just 21 appearances for the Tynecastle Park outfit last term before cruelly having his season cut short by a knee injury.
It means he’ll be out of action until around October, giving Lee Peltier the chance to shine in the right-back berth for the opening weeks of the season at the very least.
The 30-year-old will certainly have plenty of sympathy for Cardiff’s new right-back after missing two-and-ahalf months of action himself last season after suffering an ankle injury in the 2-0 win over Preston on transfer deadline day in January.
He returned to action in the final weeks of the campaign, helping Cardiff keep clean sheets in their wins over Nottingham Forest and Huddersfield.
And he’ll be determined to show he has no ambition of playing second fiddle to Paterson when the Scotsman makes a fully recovery from his injury.
Matt Connolly
Connolly fell behind the likes of Sol Bamba, Sean Morrison and Bruno Manga in the pecking order last season following Warnock’s arrival at the club.
And even when he did feature in the side, the going proved to be tough for the 29-year-old who picked up for yellow cards and a red in the space of seven matches.
Let’s not forget that the centreback was voted as Cardiff’s Player of the Season after an impressive 2015-16 campaign, and he helped kick-start a fine comeback from the Bluebirds as he netted the equaliser in their 2-1 win over Wolves before Christmas last time out.
But the competition for places in his position will be greater than ever next season, with Manga signing a new contract to remain in south Wales, while Bamba and Morrison are currently preferred by the Cardiff boss.
He still has two years left on his current contract with the club, and he will need to step up or face being deemed surplus to requirements by the veteran boss.