By Gareth James
Callum Robinson insists he took no offence, but plenty of advice, after being criticised by his Cardiff City manager, Erol Bulut.
Republic of Ireland striker Robinson was told by Bulut he needed to work harder defensively after he was left out of the starting line-up earlier in the season.
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The 28-year-old former West Bromwich Albion forward says he bit the bullet and knuckled down and having regained his place in the team, Robinson is likely to lead the line for the Bluebirds on Saturday away at Southampton.
“I am always humble enough to take it,” Robinson said of his talks with Bulut.
“He is the manager, I am the player and I always have to take on board what the manager is saying. It was tough because I was trying to get back to fitness and trying to get back on board with what the manager was saying.
“Fitness-wise I wasn’t 100% and the only way I could get there was to start games and [for] the manager to play me.
“He put me in to start against Huddersfield and that night went well (Cardiff won 4-0 in October).
“So it was a lot of things. He knows what I can bring to the team. It was just a bit about being fully fit and, before that, the lads were doing great.
“Thankfully I am through that now and the smile is back on my face.”
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Robinson’s spell out of the starting line-up followed injury issues after a hamstring setback and a back problem.
But he has since returned and helped his team climb into the play-off positions before recent back-to-back home defeats saw them fall back to ninth.
He insists Turkish manager Bulut has made huge strides in making Cardiff a more competitive force in the Championship.
“Coming into the team, having left it in February, it’s night and day,” Robinson said.
“For the club, it starts from the top. Recruitment was as good as it could have been in our situation.
“We have players with so much ability. It’s improved the way I play. It’s made me better and I’ve enjoyed being back with the boys.”
Erol Bulut says he is ready to take Cardiff City to the next level in the transfer window and it might put a few players' noses out of joint. Has his eyes and ears in Europe as January approaches.
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— Glen Williams (@GlenWilliams12) November 30, 2023
Even though Robinson has only been at Cardiff for 14 months, Bulut is already the club’s fourth permanent manager he has played under.
“It’s tough for anyone, any business, if the manager keeps changing,” said Robinson.
“It was tough last year, really tough. From all my experience in football, I’ve never had so much change.
“But now it’s nice because it proves [what can happen] with a bit of stability, bringing in players in the summer, and the results show that.
“He (Bulut) has got that winning mentality and that runs through the team. I’ve worked with a lot of different characters. Everyone has their own way. What I like is that he’s a winner.
“Whoever was here last year will know it was a tough season for us. That makes you stronger as well. Even this season, the way we are, we are really humble.
“We still have that mentality from last year, which I think is healthy. But I think we have proved we can give any team a game.”
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Kyle Walker-Peters’ stunning strike sent promotion-chasing Southampton to a 1-0 victory over Bristol City on Wednesday and extended their unbeaten Championship run to 10 matches, while Cardiff were losing 1-0 at home to West Brom.
Saints’ former Swansea City head coach Russell Martin believes his team – who sit fourth in the table – are finding consistency.
“It can’t just be lucky for 10 games,” said Martin.
“One game, two games even four games you can be a bit lucky but 10 games isn’t lucky. I am happy, I might not seem it as you always want more, but I am happy.”
