South Wales Echo

Mark joining coach party’s a huge boost

- GLEN WILLIAMS Football Writer glen.williams@walesonlin­e.co.uk

CARDIFF City’s coaching staff added a sizeable clout when it was announced that Mark Hudson was to come on board.

While Steve Morison and Tom Ramasut had done a lot in their short space of time to convince large swathes of Bluebirds fans that they were the right men to take charge permanentl­y, it was obvious they needed another body in the building.

Indeed, Hudson was as short at 16/1 to take over as manager at one time. That connection with Cardiff prompted many to want him back at the club in some capacity and they seemingly got their wish.

But they have Morison to thank for that. The Cardiff boss revealed on Wednesday that it was he who made the decisive phone call, adamant that Hudson was the type of coach and personalit­y he wanted as part of the staff to drive the club forward.

Morison said his call was met with an extreme eagerness from Bluebirds fan favourite Hudson.

“One thing I wanted to do, if I took the job, was to bring another member of staff in,” Morison said.

“We lost James Rowberry, who had been here for a hell of a long time and is a really good coach - he is doing fantastic at Newport. We needed another member of staff.

“I did my homework and [Hudson] was someone I was really interested in speaking to. I made contact with Mark and he was so keen to get involved.

“I put it to the board and they were unanimous in agreeing that it was a really good appointmen­t and something that would be beneficial for the football club.

“I thank them hugely for allowing me to do that and having the trust in me to find the right person.

“I could have gone and got one of my mates, if I wanted to, but that’s not what was right for me or the football club and that’s what it’s all about.

“[The board] had their conversati­ons with Mark to make sure he was aligned to what we wanted to do and on Monday morning we were ready to go.”

The first port of call for Hudson, one would think, is sorting this sub-par Cardiff defence.

If the Bluebirds are to break free from the threat of relegation, the rate at which they are conceding goals needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

Cardiff have the second worst defensive record in the league as things stand and you can talk about a lack of creativity until you are blue in the face, but if goals continue to fly in past them then they aren’t going anywhere too quickly.

Speaking on the Sky Sports

EFL Podcast, pundit and commentato­r Don Goodman said: “In terms of Steve, he has changed the ethos a little bit but the one thing that he really, really will need to focus on and fix is the alarming rate in which they are shipping goals.

“They have let 31 goals in in 17 games.

“I mean that is way, way too many, there is only Peterborou­gh that have let in more goals than that so if you’re going to leak goals at that rate it really makes winning football matches very, very difficult.”

Hudson was one of Cardiff ’s best defenders in recent memory. A shrewd tactician on the pitch, he was as good in the air as he was reading the game on the ground and Cardiff fans will hope that transcends into his coaching style.

Speaking more specifical­ly on how Hudson’s appointmen­t will aid Cardiff on the training ground, Morison said: “Bringing Mark in helps.

“We can all focus on a few more things, because one of the things we had to do in the interim period is only concentrat­e on certain things, because you’ve only got so much time and you’ve only got so much reach, just being the two of you.

“You should see more from us. We can reach a bit further now. Mark has played so many games at centre-half, so he can help in that department more.”

 ?? ?? Mark Hudson can play a key role at Cardiff City
Mark Hudson can play a key role at Cardiff City

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