Armand Traore was wondering when he would play again three weeks ago when new boss Aitor Karanka told him he was surplus to requirements at Nottingham Forest.
But now the 28-year-old former Arsenal, Juventus and QPR wing back is targeting promotion to the Premier League and dreaming of a possible World Cup trip to Moscow this summer after being signed by former boss Neil Warnock.
Having already made an impact with an assist and a goal in his first two outings, he now has big spending Middlesbrough back in his sights this weekend. He has already helped Forest beat them 2-1 this season and now he wants to re-pay the faith shown in him by Warnock with a double.
“I got told pretty much about 48 hours before deadline day that I wasn’t going to play under Karanka. It was hard to take because nobody likes rejection,” said Traore.
“At first I was a bit hurt because I wanted to play, but I quickly got over it. Not everybody is going to like you in football.
“For some reason he came to the club, we didn’t really chat or anything, and I got told without any reason I wasn’t going to play two weeks later.
“You deal with it and just believe in yourself. It’s a game of opinions and you just have to try to keep moving forward and that’s what I’ve done.
“When Neil Warnock came in for me there was plenty to get excited about again. I always wanted to work with him again after playing under him at QPR and so I got my wish, even if it is only for a few months.
http://Embed from Getty Images
“Before the season you set yourself goals and I would be hitting all my goals if I was in a team that got promoted and I got back into the Senegal side. It would be a dream season for me if I could play at the World Cup this summer.”
With his injury list shortening, and players like Traore coming in to strengthen the squad in January, Warnock believes his side is still very much in the hunt for a promotion place. The Bluebirds currently sit in fourth place, one point off Aston Villa in second.
Traore proved his value with a goal in the 2-0 win over Bolton Wanderers on Tuesday night that made it five wins without defeat to erase the memories of the four successive defeats they suffered over a horrendous Christmas period.
“We had another clean sheet on Tuesday night to make it 13 this season. Back in August I said that if we kept 16 clean sheets that would be good enough to reach the play-offs and I’m sticking to that,” said Warnock.
The Cardiff City boss is delighted to have Traore back with him and has been pleased with the way he has focussed from the start in the Welsh capital. Having given him game time against Leeds and Bolton, he is now looking for even bigger performances moving forward.
“There are parts of his game that make you pull your hair out if you don’t get on top of him. I know how he works and he needs somebody like me to get the best out of him,” said Warnock.
“If you are not careful you forget how good he is and just look at his weaknesses. I think he has got far more plusses than minuses and if we can eliminate one of two of the minuses it will make him the complete player because he has got everything, every attribute.
“I paid more than £1m to Arsenal for him when I was at QPR and he was one of our better players. He has seen it all and done it all, although he will be a bit disappointed in himself with parts of his career because he has let himself down at times.
“But we just need to look forward now and he is going to be a good acquisition between now and the end of the season. I haven’t seen him as focussed as he is now.
“At QPR he played it off the cuff and you didn’t know what you were going to get any day when you woke up, a bit like the weather.”
