Hudson is back... and knows the formula for success at Cardiff City
MARK Hudson is back at Cardiff City.
The former Bluebirds defender has returned to the capital as part of Steve Morison’s coaching staff, in a move that was almost universally seen as a pleasant surprise by fans.
Hudson is clearly still a hugely popular figure with many Cardiff supporters. Some will have even followed the example of former striker Michael Chopra in calling for him to be handed the management role himself.
Morison’s appointment as boss, albeit until the end of the season, has been met with similar levels of approval among the the City fanbase, with many fans encouraged by their side’s recent showings.
City ended a sorry run of 10 games without a win last time out with a 2-1 victory over Huddersfield Town, Hudson’s former club, and there’s clearly a real hope that the 39-year-old can help the Bluebirds build on their promising start under Morison’s leadership.
Having Hudson on board is certainly an added bonus, with the former City star well aware of what it will take to make Cardiff successful once again.
“When you move to Cardiff, you fully commit,” he told Coaches’ Voice previously.
“You don’t move nearby and travel to and from. I think there’s something in the locations that are most conducive to building a special team bond.”
Hudson admits that his time in south Wales heightened his understanding of the importance of team spirit in the face of the stresses and strains that come with the Championship, and credits one particular Cardiff boss as an early influence on his coaching career.
“Malky Mackay was brilliant at building that kind of bond. What he created in the dressing room at Cardiff was unbelievable,” he said.
“There was an honesty in it. We led the dressing room pretty much ourselves, because he allowed us to do that. He trusted us.
“He was only with us for two years, but he really got us fighting for each other. He took that Cardiff team to the next level.
“There were no egos in that team; there was such a togetherness. We’d get off the team coach at the same time - everyone would wait until every single person was ready before anyone got off. Everyone wore exactly the same, so there was nothing special about any individual. We were all buying into that message of the collective.”
But despite his clear fondness for
Cardiff, Hudson’s coaching journey actually started in west Yorkshire, where after helping them to the Premier League as a player, he took on a role within David Wagner’s backroom team.
“David and Christoph [Buhler] had been a huge influence on me in terms of the coach I became,” he said.
“They taught us to play the game in a completely different way to what I’d seen before.
“They also opened my eyes to a completely different style of management, coaching and analysis - particularly how it can all be blended together to create something special on the pitch.
“Once the dust had settled after the playoff final, I had a really open conversation with David. We decided that I would do pre-season with the players and down-train, which was important for me. I’d been doing it my whole life.
“After that, I quickly moved on to learning the ropes. I shadowed David and Christoph; I followed things in the media department to see how that worked; I saw how the sport science department went about their business every day; and I spent loads of time in with the data-analysis team.
“That was something David and Christoph were very, very big on, and it was a big part of our success at Huddersfield.
“It was important for me to understand how they coded things, how they worked out trends in the opposition and how they presented their findings for others to understand it all easily. I learned a lot.”
After a spell as under-23s boss Hudson would, of course, go on to take interim charge of the Terriers after Wagner was dismissed, taking charge of the 3-0 defeat to Manchester City in January 2019.
He would later take caretaker charge again the following season
after the departure Jan Siewert, ironically overseeing a 2-1 defeat to Cardiff.
“I had no hesitation at all in saying yes,” he said when thinking back to taking charge the first time around.
“It was a really weird situation, though. I’d loved playing for and working with David and his assistant Christoph Buhler and, just like so many members of the squad, I was sad to see them go.
“It’s a special feeling to build bonds in a squad and see them developing.
“It’s so rewarding to put a plan together with your staff and then put it into practice with the players. “I absolutely love it.
“That week in charge at Huddersfield was a confirming week for me.
“Now, there’s no doubt about it: I’ve caught the management bug.”
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