FANS BACK BACUNA AND HARRIS GETS IT SPOT ON

CARDIFF City correspondent Glen Williams runs us through the big talking points after the Bluebirds’ brilliant win over Bristol City... LEANDRO BACUNA HAS FINALLY WON OVER THE BLUEBIRDS FAN BASE

It has taken over a year for some, but it finally looks as though Leandro Bacuna has won over the majority of the Cardiff City fan base.

And it’s not before time, either. He has been excellent for the Bluebirds this season, but some were more staunch in their views of the midfielder and needed far more convincing than others.

The roots most likely lie in the player’s signing a year and a half ago. Many an eyebrow was raised when Neil Warnock offered him a four-year contract on a fairly hefty wage.

But it is fair to say he has justified the outlay and put in arguably his best performance of the season at Ashton Gate on Saturday.

He has had very few injury troubles, played just a day after flying back from Curacao back in the October international break and even took to the pitch after his good friend and compatriot Jarzinho Pieter passed away unexpectedly during that week.

It’s not been an easy season for him off the pitch by any stretch, but no-one can fault his commitment to the shirt and his importance to the side is evidenced by just how often Neil Harris selects him.

Bacuna covered every blade of grass on the pitch at Ashton Gate and he has become vital in shoring up City’s defence in recent weeks.

He will be a vital component in aiding Cardiff’s rigidity as the playoff run-in heats up.

NEIL HARRIS IS DOING AND SAYING ALL THE RIGHT THINGS Another who perhaps needed to convince supporters was the manager.

The overall feeling of indifference following Neil Harris’ appointment took a while to shake off and the early results also added to that.

Following an initial burst of results, that ‘new-manager bounce’, City went through a spell of winning only one of eight games in December and January, a run littered with a number of draws as the team struggled to get over the line.

That was, of course, a time of transition.

It was when Harris was trying to work out his best starting XI while trying to slowly adapt his team’s style of football.

In truth, this mini-break has done the club a world of good.

There were signs of positive form heading into the enforced hiatus, but Harris and his side have picked that up and run with it since football’s return.

They look far more organised in defence, far more controlled in their build-up play in attack and, crucially, every player now seems to be singing off the same song sheet. And that is credit to Harris and his staff as much as it is to the players for adapting to it.

He also just gets it when it comes to what fans want to hear, I feel.

Neil Warnock is a difficult act to follow when it comes to the press, the now Middlesbrough boss would come up with some real pearls for the media to work with and the fans loved him for it.

Harris is not like that (very few people are like Neil Warnock!), but