Neil Warnock is out to achieve a miracle and insists the ‘Yorkshire Welsh’ will play a huge part in Cardiff City’s bid for a return to the Premier League.
The Bluebirds manager, a born and bred Yorkshireman from Sheffield, is preparing his team for a Championship top two clash with leaders Wolves at Cardiff City Stadium on Friday (7.45pm).
“It’s just been a wonderful experience for me in Cardiff,” says Warnock. “I think back to Rotherham United where I got my zest back.
“To come here and turn it round, not just the playing side, has been amazing.
“When I go out to the Valleys it’s because I like to mix with people and talk to people. They’re Welsh Yorkshire these people. They say it how it is.
“And if we don’t manager another point this season, they’d cheer us on.
“It would be a miracle, the best achievement in my career by a mile, if we go up.”
City hope for an 30,000-plus attendance with 27,000 tickets already sold and long queues at the stadium today.
The match is being shown live on Sky television and Warnock says: “It’s a fantastic game and we should be on for a big attendance, if not a record crowd.
“It’s good for Wolves, too. We’ve had a dig about the money they’ve spent, but they’ve had a rough time and all credit to them.
“We played them once and did quite well. It’ll be a cracking game. They will be at full strength with some extremely good players.
“The Portuguese lads have done well, while the backbone of the team, the English lads, have revelled in it. We’re looking forward to pitting our wits against them.
“We might be the form team, but we’re not favourites. You would have to say Wolves are favourites.
“You don’t become the top team in the league without being a good team.
“It’s the challenge of games like Wolves and Villa that we have to revel in. We need to play in front of those atmospheres.”
A win for Cardiff would lift them to within three points of the leaders with a game in hand, while the Bluebirds dare not slip up with Fulham in ominous form.
Warnock still avoids talking about automatic promotion or Cardiff’s chances of winning the League, saying: “That’s not really a target for us. Another point and we’re in the play offs.
“It’s just the challenge of beating the best side in the league. People can think about ‘what if’, but we play Wolves and Villa. Some people might not give us any chance in those games.
“We have already had a remarkable season if you look at the odds. Hopefully, in the last six games, we can prove we’re up there on merit.”
Midfield player Joe Ralls, who has been out injured since February, and defender Matt Connolly are fit and could available for Cardiff, but Jazz Richards is still ruled out.
“Jazz will be another couple of weeks,” said the City manager. “He’s had an operation, is feeling a lot better and might be able to help us in those last few games.”
The Bluebirds have earned 25 points from the last 27 on offer – eight wins and a draw – and are five points clear of third-placed Fulham with a game in hand, while they have a seven point buffer over Aston Villa who are in fourth.
City’s long winning streak ended with a 1-1 draw at Sheffield United when Anthony Pilkington netted a late equaliser and Warnock said: “If you chad gone into our dressing room you’d think we’d won the World Cup.
“It’s fantastic for team spirit. We always know if we can hang in there, we can score.”
Referee Mike Dean is in charge of Cardiff v Wolves on Friday.
Remaining fixtures for the top four:
Wolves: Cardiff (A), Derby (H), Birmingham (H), Bolton (A), Sheffield Wednesday (H), Sunderland (A).
Cardiff City: Wolves (H), Aston Villa (A), Norwich (A), Nottingham Forest (H), Derby (A), Hull (A), Reading (H).
Fulham: Sheffield Wednesday (A), Reading (H), Brentford (H), Millwall (A), Sunderland (H), Birmingham (A).
Aston Villa: Norwich (A), Cardiff City (H), Leeds (H), Ipswich (A), Derby (H), Millwall (A).
Championship Table
2017/18
| | HOME | | AWAY | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | Wolves | 40 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 43 | 18 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 30 | 18 | +37 | 86 |
| 2 | Cardiff | 39 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 38 | 14 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 24 | 19 | +29 | 80 |
| 3 | Fulham | 40 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 36 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 34 | 26 | +29 | 75 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 40 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 39 | 18 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 25 | 19 | +27 | 73 |
| 5 | Derby | 39 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 30 | 18 | 8 | 9 | 3 | 27 | 20 | +19 | 65 |
| 6 | Middlesbro | 40 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 27 | 16 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 29 | 23 | +17 | 63 |
| 7 | Bristol C | 40 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 31 | 19 | 6 | 9 | 5 | 25 | 26 | +11 | 62 |
| 8 | Millwall | 40 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 30 | 18 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 20 | 21 | +11 | 62 |
| 9 | Sheff Utd | 40 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 30 | 17 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 23 | 28 | +8 | 62 |
| 10 | Preston | 40 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 22 | 20 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 27 | 22 | +7 | 60 |
| 11 | Brentford | 40 | 7 | 10 | 3 | 33 | 22 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 23 | 25 | +9 | 58 |
| 12 | Ipswich | 40 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 26 | 21 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 23 | 30 | -2 | 53 |
| 13 | Leeds | 40 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 27 | 25 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 25 | 31 | -4 | 53 |
| 14 | Norwich | 40 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 20 | 21 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 22 | 29 | -8 | 52 |
| 15 | QPR | 40 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 30 | 26 | 3 | 6 | 11 | 19 | 31 | -8 | 50 |
| 16 | Sheff Wed | 40 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 29 | 29 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 19 | 25 | -6 | 47 |
| 17 | Nottm Forest | 39 | 8 | 2 | 9 | 20 | 25 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 23 | 31 | -13 | 46 |
| 18 | Hull | 40 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 37 | 29 | 3 | 6 | 11 | 18 | 32 | -6 | 41 |
| 19 | Reading | 40 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 22 | 29 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 23 | 31 | -15 | 39 |
| 20 | Bolton | 40 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 22 | 25 | 1 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 34 | -25 | 39 |
| 21 | Birmingham | 40 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 15 | 21 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 15 | 36 | -27 | 39 |
| 22 | Barnsley | 39 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 18 | 28 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 21 | 30 | -19 | 34 |
| 23 | Sunderland | 40 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 36 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 25 | 36 | -29 | 31 |
| 24 | Burton | 40 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 14 | 37 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 34 | -42 | 31 |
