LOUSY! I DON’T LIKE GETTING BEATEN

CARDIFF City manager Mick McCarthy spoke of his disappointment after his Bluebirds side put on a spirited display against Fulham but ultimately fell to a seventh straight defeat, writes Glen Williams.

After a bright start, Fulham overpowered Cardiff at the start of the second half and the Bluebirds simply couldn’t recover.

It was understood that McCarthy would get the chance to turn this dismal run around after the South Wales derby defeat with games against the Cottagers and Neil Warnock’s Middlesbrough tomorrow.

With Wednesday’s defeat sinking Cardiff down to 21st in the Championship table, it all looks very bleak at the minute.

“It leaves me on the back end of a really horrible run of results,” he said when asked where this defeat leaves him.

“And if football is true to its usual stuff then we know what happens.

“I came in on the back of a defeat by Swansea, we’ve certainly had a much better performance, and I’ll be doing exactly the same for Middlesbrough unless I’m told different.

“I can’t do any more than what I’m doing. I certainly can’t try harder than I am. TC and I are giving it everything.”

McCarthy has spoken about meetings with CEO Ken Choo Tan and chairman Mehmet Dalman, but when asked whether he had been in talks with owner Vincent Tan, he replied: “I’ve had two or three conversations with Vincent, yes, but you will appreciate that, the fact that I’ve had them, I’m not going to tell you what was said.”

It’s understandable that this awful run of form has had an impact on the manager off the pitch, too.

McCarthy, though, said he has everyone behind him and rooting for him to spark some sort of upsurge in fortunes in the coming days.

“Everyone who asks me how I’m doing, I say, ‘Great, my family are well, everything is fine except football results’,” the manager said.

“Unfortunately for me, 90 percent of my life is football and football results, so you can tell how I’m feeling.

“Thankfully, I’ve got a really good support network with my wife, Fiona, and everyone else behind me. And the staff and the players, they proved that at Fulham.

“But I feel pretty lousy because I don’t like getting beaten.”