Harris is the right man for Bluebirds

AS WE’VE seen over the past week, nothing is guaranteed when a club choose a manager.

There is always an element of risk. month ago, Leyton Orient picked former Bournemouth and West Ham midfielder Carl Fletcher as their new manager.

The O’s felt Fletcher ticked all the boxes, but results fell away under his command and culminated in a disastrous 2-1 defeat at home against Maldon & Tiptree in the FA Cup first round last Sunday. The east Londoners decided it was better for a rapid parting of the ways and sacked Fletcher on Thursday.

Saying that, you’ve got to feel that Cardiff have made a shrewd appointment in handing their managerial reins to Neil Harris.

In four-and-a-half years at his former club Millwall, Harris did an excellent job. He led the Lions to promotion from League One and established themselves back in the Championship despite not having the financial muscle of many of their rivals.

True, results fell away in his final year in charge and some fans began to get tetchy, but, overall, he exceeded expectations.

It is going to be fascinating to see how he now fares at Cardiff. While it was always going to be difficult to gain another promotion at Millwall, that will now be his remit in Wales. The Bluebirds were in the Premier League last season and should be in the shake-up to get back there.

Things had gone a little stale under Neil Warnock and a fresh face in charge may well give them a lift. In many ways, moving from Millwall to Cardiff is a good fit for Harris. He’s moving from one club with a passionate fanbase to another.

He always wanted his Lions players to put in a shift and he will demand the same commitment at his new club. There will be a different kind of pressure on Harris, but he is a smart guy and knows, in time, he has a great opportunity to reach the top-flight.