Beware ‘wounded’ Bluebirds, warns Harris

MANAGER SENDS A WARNING TO FULHAM AS CITY AIM TO OVERTURN TWO-GOAL DEFICIT

NEIL Harris has warned Fulham that Cardiff City can be a “dangerous wounded animal” as his Bluebirds bid to overturn a two-goal deficit at Craven Cottage tonight.

The Welsh club were downed by two second-half goals on Monday, leaving them with the monumental task of coming from two goals behind in the second leg of their play-off semifinal clash, a feat which has never been achieved in the Championship.

But Harris said he is heartened by the sheer number of games, even in his own relatively short tenure as manager, in which his side have had to pick themselves up off the canvas to produce dramatic comebacks.

Now, he is just asking for one more. “The 3-3 at Leeds, we were 2-0 down at Charlton in my first game in charge and we came back for the draw, we were 2-0 down after 18 minutes against Brentford and drew – and should have won the game,” Harris said of his side’s resilience.

“We have trailed in a lot of games and found a way to come back and either win or draw. That gives me a lot of faith in my group – and belief.

“And it should give my players the belief that they can do it. We are a team that finds a way of scoring a goal or winning a game. A lot of credit goes to the players for that. They have done it time and time again, not just this year but in years gone by as well.

“We can be a dangerous, wounded animal to come back and hurt teams. We have to use that passion, determination and resilience in abundance on Thursday night.”

It will be no easy task, of course, but if Cardiff fans can take solace in one thing it is that their team has been pretty free-scoring of late.

While no player has been prolific – four players sit on eight goals as the club’s leading scorer – they have found ways to hit the back of the net in key moments this season.

“We need to make sure we’ve got goalscorers from the start and we finish with goalscorers on the pitch as well,” Harris added.

“We have got players that can produce big moments and they’ve done it time and time again in the last few months. It gives me the belief that when we get the chance, we will score.

“That’s what disappointed me the other night, we have been clinical in key moments, especially post-January and we weren’t in the first 20 minutes the other night.

“Goals win games and I know I’ve got players in my group who are capable of scoring in big matches.

“I give Fulham some praise for the other night, but it’s now up to our players to produce those moments,” Harris said.

“We’ve done it, we’ve had match winners and we have had players who want to be heroes.

“The players want to achieve. It’s not about ‘well done’ for what the group has achieved – we want more.

“It’s another opportunity for us to prove ourselves.”

■ Match preview: Pages 46&47