CARDIFF VIEW: NEIL HARRIS

DANNY Ward’s future may be uncertain, but Cardiff boss Neil Harris didn’t hide his desire to continue working with the player after his match-winning contribution yesterday.

“Danny has been excellent for me,” Harris said after the 1-0 win over Bristol City.

“He was a wonderful fella, a terrific character and a very good pro.

“I really like working with him. I do a lot of work with the centre forwards and he is a big part of that.

“We really missed him on Tuesday (against Charlton), not having him as an impact on the bench. I want to continue working with him.

“He is happy here, he likes it here.

“Mehmet (Dalman, the chairman) has been very clear and honest that, at the moment, it’s sit-tight time for everybody, let’s see what unfolds.

“We have got two-and-a-half weeks, hopefully slightly longer, until the end of the season and things like out-of-contract players will be dealt with then.”

A lot has been spoken about City’s lack of cutting edge against Charlton in midweek and it looked as though the Welsh outfit would be blunted against against Bristol City, despite dominating the match.

But having Ward available just offered the Bluebirds another option, a no-nonsense poacher who feasts on those sorts of chances.

“He’s a goalscorer. If we feed him opportunities in the box, he will score,” he added.

“If we look at that goal, Robert Glatzel at home against Reading in the FA Cup, Callum Paterson against Barnsley, it’s about getting the players in the right positions to keep building opportunities up the pitch.

“A lot of it can be natural, though, and Danny Ward is a natural goalscorer.”

And midfielder Joe Ralls, the man so often trying to architect those chances, was also singing Ward’s praises.

“In those sorts of positions, those sorts of chances, there’s no one I’d rather be on the end of it,” Ralls said after the win which put City three points clear of Derby County in seventh.

“He’s a great finisher, everyone at the club knows what he can do and it was a great finish once again.

“The two lads (Lee Tomlin and Danny Ward) came on, combined and won the game for us.”

One thing is for certain, if Ward is playing to convince the higherups that he deserves a new contract, he couldn’t have started post-lockdown in much better fashion.

One appearance, one matchwinning goal and three vital points.