‘Recruitment vital for Bluebirds’ – Warnock
NEIL WARNOCK believes Erol Bulut has done enough to warrant another year at Cardiff City.
The Bluebirds boss’ future remains in the air, with his current contract up at the end of the season. Bulut has steered the club away from the relegation places, which is where they’ve found themselves the last two seasons, and Cardiff are now set to finish comfortably in mid-table.
Warnock himself took over a Bluebirds team at the wrong end of the table when he came on board in 2016. That first season he stabilised the club and oversaw a 12th-placed finish, before launching the promotion campaign the following season.
And Warnock hopes the same stability this summer could aid a promotion bid next term.
Speaking to the Echo about Bulut, Warnock said: “I met him when I came down there and I like him. He is a very sensible lad. Sometimes you really forget what the ambitions of clubs are, but I think he’s done really well and he warrants getting another year.
“But you just don’t know what they feel behind the scenes. I really liked him. He’s made some good signings as well - you’re not going to get it right with every one - but they’ve now come back strongly after a bit of a slip and are finishing the season strongly.
“They’ve been safe right from the start. They did push for a week or two, you thought they could get into the play-offs, but it’s a tough league this year. It’s never been tougher at the top than what it’s been this year.
“They have done really well. The Southampton victory didn’t surprise me at all. They didn’t have many shots - but it didn’t matter, fans always get behind them. They could finish in that top 10, which is good.”
Clearly, sorting the manager’s situation out is priority number one, but Warnock said that recruitment this summer is “crucial” if the Bluebirds are to build on the foundations laid this year. Sign up to our Cardiff City newsletter here.
“It’ll be interesting to see the recruitment in the summer,” he added.
“Looking at the teams coming down, I think there’ll be more opportunities next season to get into the top six. That’s not knocking the teams coming down, but they’re not like Leeds and Leicester. And Ipswich have proved what you can do, I think Kieran McKenna has done an excellent job there. It shows anything can happen.
“I think there’s room for a Cardiff next year, I do. Someone to come out of the shadows and really grasp their chance. But I think recruitment is crucial this summer. But there is an opportunity there for Cardiff.”
The concern for some is that the longer this drags on, the more susceptible Cardiff are to starting next season on the back foot.
“It’s bound to [have an impact] in terms of you do like to plan ahead. You’re always looking at players,” Warnock added.
“When the club have clarity on what they’re going to do it will help everything. I imagine they will make a decision over the next couple of weeks, but the sooner the better, so the players and the managerial staff know what they’re doing. And if Mehmet (Dalman) is in your corner then you’ve got a chance.”
There were some hits and misses from the two transfer windows Bulut has overseen. L
ast summer they were hamstrung by a transfer embargo which prohibited the club from paying fees for players.
In January, they had to rip up the plan and sign new players with two days’ notice due to their profit and sustainability headroom.
But some positive work was done and good players came through the door. And in Warnock’s opinion, Yakou Meite, who Cardiff signed on a free after he left Reading, is one of them. The Ivorian has had a disappointing season in front of goal, scoring just twice despite playing predominantly as a centre-forward in his 38 appearances.
But Warnock believes there is more to come.
“Meite, I was dead keen on him [at Huddersfield],” Warnock said. “But Cardiff pipped us to that one. We spoke for a number of weeks but he said he liked the project which was put to him at Cardiff.
“I still think there’s still a lot more to come from him. One of those players you have to keep on top of. He’s got strength and he can finish.”
Warnock was speaking ahead of his upcoming show at the Vale Sports Arena on June 21. The show – Neil Warnock - One Last Time – will include special guests and an interactive screen with video footage and photos from his playing days and time in management.
Of course, he is lauded by fans in the Welsh capital for taking Cardiff to the Premier League in 2018 and that promotion-winning campaign holds fond memories for the 75-year-old.
“I can see us now, at Hull, one of the last games, and Sean Morrison cost us a goal and then went and scored that goal - I don’t know what he was doing, having a dribble! I still talk to him now about it!
“I still keep in touch with most of the lads, they were a good group. And Mehmet Dalman, he was as good as I’ve ever worked with, I couldn’t have done it without him.
“But let’s just have a laugh! Nowadays, everything is so serious, isn’t it? It’s nice to relax, have an evening away, tell a few stories and make people smile.
“I’ll never forget the open-top bus ride and some of the things that were said to me. I’m going to re-live that.
“We’ve got a big screen and a lot of great visual shots. Some of the celebrations, the Cardiff ones, I don’t think they’ll have seen them before. I’m looking forward to seeing a few friendly faces and having a laugh. I look forward to seeing all the Bluebirds fans!”
Neil Warnock – One Last Time is at the Vale Sports Arena on June 21.