Here’s to you, Sean
WARNOCK DELIGHTED AS SKIPPER MORRISON SIGNS A NEW CONTRACT
CARDIFF City’s pre-season tour to Devon and Cornwall has given fans the opportunity to see their new heroes in action for the first time.
An estimated 300 Bluebirds supporters have made the trip to the South West, with Lee Tomlin the latest debutant to feature, in Wednesday night’s victory over Bodmin Town.
The tour is also, of course, a chance for Neil Warnock to assess his new players before blooding them in a competitive environment.
So, while Neil Etheridge and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing have seen plenty of pre-season action since joining the Bluebirds, Warnock has been running the rule on others.
Callum Paterson is the only new signing who won’t feature on the tour, as he continues his rehabilitation from a long-standing cruciate knee ligament injury.
But what has Warnock made of the other additions to his squad and how they’ve fared so far?
LOIC DAMOUR
The Frenchman opened his Bluebirds account with two superbly-taken goals in the 3-1 win at Bodmin Town. The first was a firecracker from 20 yards and the second a cool sidefooted finish into the bottom corner. Damour looks to be a good option for Cardiff in holding midfield. He’s a neat and tidy footballer who goes about his business in an unfussy way. And Warnock has been impressed. “He’s coming on well,” the boss said of the 26-year-old.
“He sees the game, plays it simple and he’s learning to restrict his erratic tackles that used to get him in trouble. But we’re trying to teach him to hold the man rather than thrash in like he has done. “He seems to be coming on board.”
LEE TOMLIN
The former Bristol City, Bournemouth and Middlesbrough star made his Bluebirds debut with a 45-minute appearance against Bodmin in which he showed glimpses of his talent.
Warnock revealed he’ll continue to monitor Tomlin’s progress in the hope of giving him 90 minutes at some point next week, though the 28-yearold is expected to feature against Plymouth tonight.
The Cardiff boss, however, remains quietly confident about what Tomlin will add to his team in the coming season.
“Obviously it was his first game, so we just wanted to give him half-agame tonight, half on Friday and then step him up next week if we can,” said Warnock after the Bodmin win.
“And hopefully he can play a full game at Shrewsbury (on Tuesday, July 25). “You could see the things he can do. There’s certain things I’ve told him at half-time, things he’s got to work on. But I think he knows what I want and he’ll be a good acquisition. You need someone like that to unlock the doors.”
DANNY WARD
Ward has featured heavily so far on pre-season tour, playing as a lone striker, in a two-pronged strike attack and on the left flank.
He’s yet to break his Bluebirds duck, but nonetheless Warnock has been delighted with his new acquisition.
Cardiff were crying out for forward options at the back-end of last season, and Warnock believes in Ward he’s got a gem.
“He played (on the left) at Rotherham for me and you could see what he can do in any position,” said the boss, who’s keen to utilise Ward’s predatory instincts. “He’s a good weapon. To have (Ward) and Ken Zohore at the backpost, we’ve got to learn – when we’ve got two versus two – that we need to get crosses in, instead of messing about tip-tapping. We’ll work on that in the weeks to come”
LEE CAMP
Camp is waiting to make his Cardiff debut, after Warnock revealed the new goalkeeper is still working with a fitness coach to rebuild sharpness following a knee injury that ruled him out of the second half of last season. Along with Jazz Richards and Anthony Pilkington, who have also been carrying niggles, Warnock was hopeful Camp would feature against Plymouth this evening. The clash could see the former Rotherham gloveman finally get a chance to stake his claim for the No.1 jersey after impressive displays by Etheridge so far this pre-season.
“They’re training now with the fitness guys,” Warnock said on the trio. “I thought we might have got a half out of them tonight (Wednesday), but (the fitness coaches) didn’t want them to. So I went along with what they said
They’ve worked hard in training so I’d be surprised if they don’t have half a game on Friday.”