Cardiff City have been warned that promotion-chasing West Brom will not be knocked out of their stride by a physical approach when they visit the Bluebirds on Tuesday night. Mick McCarthy and his team are desperate to stop the rot for the home side who have lost five of their last six games in all competitions and three on the trot in the Championship. The Yorkshireman is a manager under pressure with fans growing restless after the 5-1 hammering suffered at Blackburn Rovers last weekend, but any attempt to muscle their way to a result will be countered, according to West Brom boss Velerien Ismael, whose team have only lost once this season.

Former Newport County manager and Sunderland defender Len Ashurst has died at the age of 82. Ashurst made 409 appearances for the Black Cats – a club record for an outfield player – before moving into management.

Mick McCarthy accused his Cardiff City players of “capitulation” after their 5-1 humbling at Blackburn Rovers made it five defeats in their last six matches. The Bluebirds boss is under pressure to halt an alarming slump from his team who have lost three Championship matches in succession for the first time since he took charge. In all, Cardiff have lost four of their last five in the Championship as well as their Carabao Cup defeat to Brighton.

Kieffer Moore has been left drained of his goalscoring powers by Covid, according to his Cardiff City manager Mick McCarthy. The Wales striker has only scored once in 10 matches so far this season and his boss reckons it’s due to a double interruption forced by the virus. Moore – who hit 24 goals for club and country last season, including one at the Euros finals – went down with coronavirus in July, almost immediately after returning from summer duty with Wales.

Cardiff City have been labelled a “horrible” team to play against by Bournemouth’s Phillip Billing who has claimed his own side matched the Bluebirds’ muscle at the weekend before outplaying them. The Cherries went to the top of the Championship with their 1-0 victory at the Cardiff City Stadium where Billing scored the only goal of the game. The tall midfielder was part of a dominant display by the new leaders, who are unbeaten in the league this season and who, according to Billing, have quickly learned how to be “horrible” themselves under new boss Scott Parker.

Mick McCarthy has claimed Bournemouth are the “almost perfect” Championship team after his Cardiff City side fell to a subdued 1-0 defeat to the Cherries. It was a third defeat in four league games for the Bluebirds who spent most of the match chasing the ball and only came to life in the late stages. The victory moved Bournemouth to the top of the table and McCarthy was eager to lavish praise on the visitors, even though three other clubs have held them to draws in their eight games so far.

Rubin Colwill may have gone from hero to zero in the space of four days crazy days in the Championship, but Marlon Pack is still backing him and Cardiff City’s other youngsters to come good this season. The teenage Welsh international striker came on at the CityGround last Sunday and not only scored within a minute to notch his first senior goal, but then grabbed a superb second to earn his side a 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest. As the fans chanted his name after the game it became an even more memorable moment for the young striker.

By Tom Prosser Ryan Giles has been one of Cardiff’s key players so far this season but his manager Mick McCarthy that he has tested positive for Covid for a second time, despite being double-jabbed. Giles missed Wednesday’s defeat to Coventry and will also not return for the Bluebird’s clash against Bournemouth on Saturday. “He’s got Covid. And what effect will it have on him? He’s had it once before and he’s double-jabbed,” explained McCarthy.

By Tom Prosser  Mick McCarthy has urged his Cardiff City players to “stick at it” as the Bluebirds aim to put the memories of their lacklustre 1-0 defeat to Coventry behind them when they take on third place Bournemouth on Saturday. “We’ll stick at it,” insisted McCarthy. “We had our chances near the end, we didn’t take them and we got beat.

Cardiff City hero Rubin Colwill has already come from nowhere this season, according to manager Mick McCarthy – but still has far to travel. Colwill came off the bench to score twice as the Bluebirds came from behind to win 2-1 at Nottingham Forest on Sunday, a result that lifted them to eighth in the Championship table It was further evidence of the teenager’s meteoric rise in 2021, although McCarthy admitted it looked less promising for the 19-year-old when the Yorkshireman first arrived to take chare at the start of the year.

Sean Morrison wants Kieffer Moore’s goals to power Cardiff City’s promotion charge – and inspire the club’s youngsters in the seasons ahead. Moore will be Cardiff’s primary weapon when they visit Nottingham Forest on Sunday, with the Wales striker having served out the quarantine imposed on him during international duty after he was judged a close contact of a Covid case. Bluebirds skipper Morrison got his first real glimpse of Moore’s scoring power when he hammered in two goals at Forest last season to earn his new club a big away win.

Mick McCarthy regards Chris Hughton as a mate, but there will be no old pal’s act when the pair meet at Nottingham Forest on Sunday. Instead, Cardiff City manager McCarthy hopes to push Hughton nearer to the exit door as Forest boss, even though the Bluebirds boss thinks Forest would be mad to push their man through. The pair played together for the Republic of Ireland before going their separate ways as managers.