RIVALS ‘HAVE TO GO UP’, CLAIMS WILY NEIL
AS THE business end of the season approaches, Neil Warnock has delved into his bag of mind games to try and give Cardiff the edge – claiming all the pressure is on their promotion rivals and that it wouldn’t be the “end of the world” if the Bluebirds don’t go up.
Wolves and Cardiff are currently in pole position when it comes to securing an automatic promotion place but, according to Warnock, the large budgets of chasing duo Fulham and Aston Villa mean they should be securing a place in the Premier League.
And the 69-year-old also insists that sealing a return to the top flight with the Welsh outfit would be the best accomplishment of his 38-year managerial career.
“It’d be the biggest achievement of my career and when you look at my career it’s been a long one,” said Warnock. “I’ve spanned three or four decades and it’s an incredible time.
“Coming here, not just turning the club round, but getting the fans behind me, I can’t tell you how good that feels as a manager to have 99.9 per cent of the fans behind you.
“On our wage bill, when you look at the teams we’re competing against, we really shouldn’t be where we are.
“There’s always pressure to win games, but I don’t feel there’s pressure on us as much as the other teams. Some of the other teams should go up. They have to go up, really.
“We’d be disappointed not to go up – of course we will – but it’s not the end of the world.”
And Warnock also saluted the Cardiff fans for their support throughout the campaign.
“The fans have looked after me and my intention is to pay them back, give them what they want,” he added. “We’ve had a fantastic season and, whatever happens, our fans will give the players the backing they deserve at the last game of the season.”