BLUEBIRDS LACK THAT LITTLE BIT OF QUALITY

NEARLY, but not quite. Just as it was at Brighton, Cardiff were nearly able to match up to a team aiming for promotion, only to lack that little bit extra.

Neil Warnock knows it, knows what it will take to make a difference, and knows he’ll have to wait.

Hence the frustration of the Bluebirds boss as he contemplated this defeat to Reading, a second narrow loss to a side at the other end of the Championship in as many games.

But it’s still as clear as ever that he has no intention of it being nearly but not quite next year.

If he has accepted that he won’t be able to get what he wants in this window, Warnock has made no secret of the fact he’s unlikely to accept it a few months down the line.

It’s unfair to call it demands – it’s never said sternly and it’s always with the caveat of how much he’s enjoyed life in South Wales and the relationships with both those in officialdom and those in the stands.

It’s all rather subtle, said with the smile of a man who’s been around the block too many times to let it all get to him or to get personal. But the frustration and the friendly warnings are clear.

Warnock could point to his promotion CV as evidence that he might know what he’s talking about when he says what’s missing from his team but he could just as easily point to this performance.

They are undoubtedly a tougher side to beat these days, no pushovers, more organised, more clear in their roles – which are starting to show a bit of flexibility – and they are certainly committed.

There were no accusations of players going through the motions or not giving enough.

“No-one passed the buck,” he insisted of a team he described as genuine, honest, hard-working.

But neither did any of them have that bit of final-third quality to trouble Reading as much as they should have, to make more of the panic that crept into their game as Cardiff searched for a Madejski leveller.

They didn’t have a player like Garath McCleary, whose lovely instinctive back-heel set up John Swift for the game’s 42nd minute opener, nor one like Yann Kermogant, whose 60th minute free-kick won it for Jap Staam’s side after Joe Ralls had levelled from the spot in first-half injury-time.

Rhys Healey did his best to provide the headlines with an energetic, positive performance, summed up when he took an almighty knock from Paul McShane in the first moments only to hit the ground and then head straight back up to look for the ball; some life lessons learned in League Two it seems.

But the rookie making his first start couldn’t quite manage that little bit extra, just as Kenneth Zohore cannot seem to turn performances of good hold-up play into ones that punish defenders and goalkeepers. Nearly, but not quite.

In truth, while Reading passed well and have a few injury worries, you can understand Warnock’s frustration and insistence that Cardiff were not and are not very far away.

It is why he has set his agenda about ambition and why he will continue to be frustrated, for a few months at any rate.

Warnock returned to using the word relegation after this defeat, knowing that all the improvements in the world don’t mean a lot if the points aren’t being added to – he knows the irony of being praised as tough to beat when you have lost two on the bounce.

Cardiff should be plenty good enough to avoid being dragged back into things – this latest result leaving them eight points clear – but it does mean that they can ill-afford getting caught up in any confidence issues as they face further challenges, starting with Preston at home on Tuesday before the visit of Norwich and then trips to Derby and Leeds.

He will hope that his midfield two of Aron Gunnarsson and Joe Ralls are a little more refreshed than they appeared here, with Danny Williams finding a little too much space, while Sol Bamba did get dragged out of position a little too much.

On top, Warnock will hope Allan McGregor gets better with games after questions over his rustiness and ability to stop the Royals.

He should have done better with Williams’ initial 42nd minute shot, before defenders allowed McCleary the chance to tee-up and no-one reacted to the run of Swift.

Set-pieces proved to be Cardiff’s saviour again, Sean Morrison felled as he attempted to reach a Junior Hoilett delivery and Ralls – just about – rolling the ball past Ali Al-Habsi.

But that was undone when Bamba was tempted into an edge-of-the-box challenge on Kermogant, which he fired home past a beaten McGregor. Cardiff drove on but lacked that little something extra, their attempts on goal outweighing that of a side who had the better possession.

But it was a case of nearly and not quite for Cardiff.

Warnock knows it might be the case for this season but has reminded again that it can’t be next time around.