By Paul Jones
Steve Morison wants his Cardiff City players to underline their growing reputation – as well as his own – when they face Huddersfield on Wednesday night.
The high-flying Terriers have just despatched Championship leaders Fulham at Craven Cottage and have moved into fifth place.
It will be the latest test for the Bluebirds fledgling boss Morison, who has successfully managed to steer the club away from the relegation zone and built up a 15-point cushion over the bottom three.
Cardiff won 2-1 when the two sides met in the Welsh capital earlier in the season thanks to two goals from Kieffer Moore.
The Welsh striker has since moved on to Bournemouth and Carlos Corberán’s team will face a much changed side from October.
@CardiffCityFC announce Steve Morison’s new contract.
— Nath (@NathCcfc) February 22, 2022
Morison worked his magic in the January transfer window and his shrewd recruitment has transformed the situation at the clubs – as well as his own chances of gaining a deal beyond the short-term one agreed when he took charge .
Having brought in Cody Drameh from Leeds, Jordan Hugill from Norwich, Tommy Doyle from Man City and Uche Ikpeazu from Middlesbrough, Morison has moved the club up the table and and enhanced his own reputation.
Since their arrival the Bluebirds have notched four wins and a draw in the league and beaten Nottingham Forest and Coventry City above them.
“I was tasked with getting the club in a better position in the league. Position-wise, it’s not miles away from where we were, but points-wise it is,” said Morison.
“I feel like I’ve ticked a lot of boxes – like trying to change the way we play, using younger players and coming out of a transfer window better than we were when we went in. We’ve also connected the fans and team a bit more.
Great from @CardiffCityFC Steve morison today speaking to @CardiffCityTV “alignment brings and misalignment brings chaos” Things are looking good for the bluebirds as it stands #cityasone #ccfc #bluebirds \o/
\o/ — Jamie Anderson (@JamieAnderson93) February 18, 2022
“There were a lot of questions asked of me, and there were a lot of doubters. I’ve also had to deal with 11 players coming out of contract as well.
“It was a big ask, but I’ve just tried to do the best job I can. I’m really proud of what I’ve done and what the staff have done.
“I will make no secret of it, I hope we can be part of what’s happening going forward.
“I’d like to have another transfer window, a pre-season and a chance to embed a culture, atmosphere, philosophy and style around what we do.
“But that’s not something I can worry about just yet.”
Huddersfield Town’s 2-1 win over Fulham on Saturday means that they have now won 2️⃣4️⃣ points away from home this season.
They only picked up 1️⃣8️⃣ points on their travels in the WHOLE of last term.
. #CCP | #HTAFC pic.twitter.com/nZmVWwEa5u
— The Championship Chat Podcast (@Champchatpod24) February 22, 2022
There have been no talks just yet about elevating Morison from interim manager to the long-term boss, but with promotion chasing Huddersfield, Fulham and QPR coming up in the next four games his long-term credentials will be under the spotlight.
“Huddersfield been excellent and hopefully we can go up there and spoil their run of 17 games unbeaten,” he added.
“All good things must come to an end and let’s hope we can be the team to do that. It was a good day when we beat them 2-1.”
