Neil’s out to grab a bargain!
WE REVEAL HARRIS’ TOP TRANSFER PRIORITY AS THE BLUEBIRDS BOSS PLANS A SPOT OF WINDOW SHOPPING
BLUEBIRDS boss Neil Harris has nothing but praise for the way club skipper Sean Morrison has reacted to being temporarily surplus to first team requirements at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Morrison, who has been a defensive mainstay for the club during the vast majority of his five-year stint to date as a Bluebirds player, is currently in the unusual position of being on the outside looking in to the first team picture following the recent impressive form of current central defensive partnership Curtis Nelson and Aden Flint.
The vastly-experienced defender was squeezed out of the side after suffering a wrist injury prior to the last international break. Now back to full fitness, Morrison is having to bide his time while the excellent Nelson-Flint partnership continues to impress.
Harris has no doubt Morrison has taken being out of the side in the correct; no sulking and re-doubling his efforts on the training ground.
“He’s been excellent. I value him as a very good centre-half. It’s about him as a person and a quality player” said Harris.
“If your leaders are leading in the right manner, everybody follows.
“By his own admission, he would have been quite a frustrated man a few years ago.
“He’s always been a player who has played regularly. It’s the first time he’s found himself out of the side.
“With the experience he has got and leadership he has got he is looking at it as a means to re-energise and go again.
“I know he wants to play.
“He’s club captain and I value him as a person. You ask for patience in those players.
“You have to keep working with them and believing in them.”
With one of the bigger squads in the Championship this term, Morrison is not alone in knowing a dip in form or injury can result in a lengthy spell trying to force his way back onto the team sheet.
Harris is fully aware the competition is tough but is delighted to be working with a group who’ve embraced the fight for the shirts.
“If they’re good pros and they really want to do it, they are going to be disappointed and deflated,” added Harris. “My only message to them, I try to do it with a bit of humility, put an arm around them, keep them going and try to make them feel an important part of the group.
“We’ve got a lot of games in a short space of time over Christmas. We’ve got a big squad, so everyone can’t play at the same time.
“You have those individual chats and remind them of their importance. “When a team in front of you is playing well and individuals, too, you have to say ‘When that chance comes I’m going to take it.’”
Among the players who knows full well he can’t rest on his laurels is goalkeeper Neil Etheridge, who gave a less convincing display from the kicking and distribution side of things during Saturday’s narrow 3-2 win over Barnsley.
The competition for the No.1 spot is fierce this season, but Harris is adamant all the Cardiff keepers are working hard to keep each other on their toes.
“Neil’s kicking was poor on the weekend and he’ll be the first to admit that,” added Harris.
“It’s something he has worked hard on over the last few years to improve with the modern game.
“You just ask players to keep practising.
“It’s not always highlighting what you’re good at, it’s highlighted what you need to improve on. “That’s nothing to be ashamed of. “So Neil is working hard with the other goalkeepers and Andy Dibble to improve.
“He has made some important saves and been reliable from set-pieces, so kicking is a little bit variable and we will just keep trying to help him to improve. I said at half-time that the amount of pass backs we gave wasn’t ideal either “