TIMELESS QUALITIES EARNING NEIL HIS REWARD
IF Vincent Tan has half a brain beneath that bizarre barnet, he will hand Neil Warnock the £6m he has demanded this summer.
In fact, Cardiff’s Malaysian owner should dole out a bumper new contract, too. Warnock has transformed the Bluebirds from spineless relegation fodder under Paul Trollope into genuine promotion contenders – and got supporters right off Tan’s back into the bargain.
There are those who dismiss the 68-year-old’s methods as a relic of decades past, yet his teams embody qualities – doggedness, discipline, bloody-minded graft – that are timeless.
The way his committed troops stymied the pace and creativity of a talented Leeds side in last weekend’s 2-0 win at Elland Road was, in its own perverse way, a joy to watch.
In the Premier League, Warnock is, by his own admission, out of his depth. His skills are perfectly suited to the Championship, from where he has won three of his seven promotions.
And that is why Tan must trust him with cold, hard cash. Warnock believes he is a decent striker away from a playoff push and the stats back him up.
If the season had started when he replaced Trollope in October, the Bluebirds would lie ninth, just three points off a playoff spot. Give Warnock even basic tools and he will do the rest.
History tells us that.