Neil Warnock is far from lonely in Cardiff – and he is committed to leading a Bluebirds promotion charge in 2017-18.
He will fly to Kuala Lumpur this summer to finalise the financial backing owner Vincent Tan is prepared to give him, but Warnock has made it clear he believes there is every chance Cardiff will challenge for promotion.
“It’s a lonely place, being a football manager,” says Warnock. “But the one thing I can honestly say at Cardiff I’ve never been lonely.
“I have had so much support. My wife really enjoys it here, she’s coming to the Fulham match. It’s lovely to put smiles on faces, not just on playing side but getting all the club together, everybody connected with the club, make it the unity of the club.”
It’s clear Warnock and Tan get on famously. Chairman Mehmet Dalman and chief executive Ken Choo are also big admirers of the City manager, who has steered the club away from relegation danger this season.
Now Warnock has made it clear he is staying and says: “We wanted to stay, they wanted us to stay. We wanted an opportunity to do well next season and they have given us that.
“We want to put the club in a position next season to have a go.
“We’ll be up against big budgets so we’ll have to be good at what we do to give us a chance. The players have been on board and been super for me, I don’t think they realised how they could perform as a unit and if we can bring a bit more quality into that squad everyone can benefit.
“I spoke to Vincent Tan and I’ll probably go out and see him at the end of the season.
“Vincent would like to pick players different to me, but we have a laugh about that.
“He asked me a few weeks ago why Nooney wasn’t playing and now he’s been brilliant so I told him it was down to him.
“When you work with a smile you can be successful, I’m at an age where I don’t want to be miserable.”
Cardiff have offered season ticket holders cut price tickets for Saturday’s home match against Fulham – they can all buy four each at a vastly reduced cost – and an attendance of more than 20,000 is expected.
Home fans can pay on the day and Cardiff will hope for a big walk-up to give the attendance a boost.
Striker Rickie Lambert has seen a specialist and will need ongoing treatment on his back, but he will be able to play now occasionally. That will be mainly as a back-up to Kenneth Zohore.
Treatment will go on through the summer and Lambert will be back for 2017-18 because he is on a two-year contract.
Lambert says: “As you get older injuries take their toll. Not just fresh injuries, but ones you’ve carried through your career too and carried on playing with.
I’m 35 years old soon and I’m still bearing the scars from my own career. My right foot, neck, hip. The war wounds haven’t gone away more than a decade on.When you are injured it frustrates you.
“The older you are, the more the recovery time seems to be. Then you get another niggle and you’re almost back to square one. It can be terribly irritating.”
It has been confirmed Rhys Healey will be out for at least nine months with ligament damage, while Bruno Manga is back in light training. He is still some way off match fitness after suffering knee ligament damage during the Africa Cup of Nations.
Lee Peltier is also out after undergoing an operation on his ankle.
Possible teams on Saturday – Cardiff City: McGregor, Connolly, Morrison (capt), Bamba, Richards, Noone, Gunnarsson, Ralls, K Harris, Hoilett, Zohore.
Fulham: Bettinelli, Odoi, Kalas, Ream, Malone, McDonald, Johansen, Aluko, Cairney, Ayite, Kebano.