Neil Harris insists there is a Lee Tomlin-inspired feel-good factor at Cardiff City that can lift them all the way into the promotion chase.
The Bluebirds managers saw his side earn an emphatic 3-0 victory at Huddersfield Town on Wednesday night which lifted them into eighth place in the Championship table.
Back-to-back wins and a 10-match unbeaten run in all competitions means Cardiff are now just four points from the play-off places and only seven points adrift of second-place Leeds United with 14 games left to play.
Tomlin was again the provider as he set up the first goal for Josh Murphy and the last for Callum Paterson, with Will Vaulks scoring in between.
“I thought it was a really good away performance,” said Harris, who has asked his team to deliver positive results in a trio of matches against struggling sides Luton, Huddersfield and Wigan, who visit Cardiff on Saturday.
“You can see the togetherness in the group is outstanding and once we went ahead we were a real threat on the counter-attack. You have to find different ways to win sometimes and today we were good on the counter-attack.
“I’ve talked about turning draws into wins and we’ve done that against Luton and again tonight. We’re getting into a nice position but you have to keep doing it at this level.
“We have a chance of the play-offs but it’s just about winning games. We had a busy window and the group is really focused and happy. There’s a really good feeling about the place and we need to continue that.”
“I thought it was a really strong Championship away performance, the team was hugely positive going into the game with an air of calmness and focus.
“I think you can see in tonight’s performance how good Lee Tomlin is at the moment, he has always had that quality in him.”
Huddersfield manager Danny Cowley said: “It’s a disappointing result for sure.
“I thought we had good control until the 24th minute, and then they scored with their first two touches in our box. Ultimately, football games are won in both boxes.
“We played some decent stuff in the middle third, but we had too many players coming towards the ball and we didn’t stretch the game enough. We shouldn’t have nearly 70 per cent possession and lose 3-0.
“The challenge was never going to be easy, there was always going to be bumps along the road. And I don’t like getting bullied, we’re proud and so are our supporters. We need to do better.”
Midfielder Murphy lashed home in the 28th minute with a sweet strike for his fourth goal in five games in all competition after a clever through ball from Tomlin.
And then five minutes later fellow midfielder Vaulks volleyed home from a corner as the shell-shocked Terriers were left with plenty of work to do.
It was Wales international midfielder Vaulks’ second league goal of the season and one which gave the visitors welcome breathing space.
Despite the Terriers’ best efforts after the break, it was Paterson who made sure of three welcome points for Harris after Tomlin had again unlocked the defence.
