Cardiff City

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Cardiff City manager Omer Riza says Cian Ashford won't be sent out on loan after his recent impressive performances.

The 20-year-old forward has scored two goals in his last two games - the 1-0 win against Sheffield United in the FA Cup and the 1-1 draw against Watford in the Championship.

The Wales Under-21 international has started the last five games for the Bluebirds, and has been instrumental in their recent unbeaten run.

"There was talk of it [going out on loan] because we have to try and help the player, and sometimes with a loan they gain experience and confidence," said Riza.

"He's stepping up a level now which is what I wanted.

"Potentially he was going to go out on loan, but now he won't be."

Ashford caught the eye last season when he scored an injury time winner for Cardiff in a 2-1 win against soon to be promoted Southampton.

He was used mostly as a substitute earlier on this season, but was given his chance in the first team following the 3-2 defeat at Oxford United.

Riza believes Ashford has matured as a player, and has learned how to deal with certain things which used to affect his performances.

"He's a quiet lad. He's a humble boy. He works really hard," Riza added.

"He lets things get on top of him sometimes and we've had lots of conversations with him.

"It's really important for us as staff and coaches to recognise when players are in those moments to help them, because there could have been times this season where he could have crumbled.

"There's been a couple of games where he wasn't comfortable on the pitch, and you recognise that and you take him out and don't allow him to do that again."

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Former Cardiff City striker Robert Earnshaw believes the club must strengthen their forward line during the current transfer window.

Even though the Bluebirds climbed out of the Championship relegation zone with Tuesday's 1-1 draw against Watford, they remain one of the lowest scoring teams in the league.

After having an offer rejected for Peterborough United striker Ricky-Jade Jones, Cardiff have now turned their attention to the Danish striker Yousef Salech.

The 22-year-old has scored 13 goals in 29 games for Swedish side Sirius, and is reportedly valued at between £3m and £4m.

"To be honest I don't know too much about him, but if they are looking for a striker I would agree [that they need one]," said Earnshaw.

"I think that should be a priority. Look at last night's game, you have got to take your chances and you need forwards.

"They need to bring players in for sure, but it's got to be the right players who help improve the team.

"The more goals the better."

Cardiff are unbeaten in their last four Championship games, though three of those have been draws.

Earnshaw is concerned about the prospect of seeing his former side in a relegation battle towards the end of the season.

Cardiff, who host Swansea City in the south Wales derby on Saturday, will slip back into the the bottom three if Portsmouth avoid defeat against Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday night.

"I always watch the games and I don't like what I am seeing right now to be honest with you," Earnshaw told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

"Listen they are unbeaten in a few games, brilliant, I think it's been a little bit of a turn.

"But we don't want to see Cardiff City in a relegation battle.

"I would love the club to continue [the unbeaten run] and get some wins, because in that league, if you continue [to struggle] and you are there in March and April, it's going to be very difficult to get out of it. I hope this month we will start to see some more wins."

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Cardiff City's lowly position in the Championship table is causing players to feel "anxious", according to manager Omer Riza.

The Bluebirds climbed out of the relegation zone with Tuesday's 1-1 home draw with Watford but will feel they should have won.

The Hornets' 87th-minute equaliser was their first shot on target, whereas Cardiff missed several chances and should have secured what would have only been their second league victory since 2 November.

Riza's side have made a habit of conceding late equalisers, having done so in recent matches against Stoke and Coventry.

"There are always things you can work on which we [coaches] are bringing to light all the time," said Riza.

"The position we are in the league leads the boys to be anxious or nervous at times. But we had enough control of the game to keep it, play out, make the opposition work more.

"We allowed them to have the ball, when we went too early with the ball, we allowed them to hurt us. That's what happened at the end. For huge parts of the game we didn't give them much."

This is an important week for Cardiff. As well as searching for valuable points in their fight against relegation, they host Swansea City in a south Wales derby on Saturday.

Although the Bluebirds have squandered leads lately, they are at least unbeaten in their past five matches in all competitions.

"It's frustrating and there is stuff we need to work on. That will improve as the season goes on," said Riza.

"We know we need three points, but we are out of the bottom three for now. It was a good performance and we have to take that into Saturday."

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Omer Riza hopes Cardiff City's fans will play a part in easing the pressure this week as the Bluebirds face home games against Watford and Swansea City.

Riza's side take on Watford on Tuesday (19:45 GMT) before returning to the Cardiff City Stadium for the south Wales derby on Saturday.

Cardiff are second from bottom in the Championship having struggled on their own patch this season aside from a run of four straight home wins in October and early November.

Since the last of those successes, against Norwich City, Riza's side have taken just one point from five games at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Only Hull City have claimed fewer home points than Cardiff this season, but Riza hopes his team – who are unbeaten in four games in all competitions – are primed to improve their record this week.

"We have had some disappointing performances [at home]," said the Cardiff boss.

"I think the pressure of the [league] position, the fans at times - I think the players feel it a little bit.

"Hopefully the fans will keep getting behind the boys and we can all try to do it together."

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Cardiff drew their last home game, against Coventry City, despite losing Callum Robinson to a contentious red card early in the second half.

Coventry's visit came after Cardiff's win at Watford on 29 December, and preceded a creditable 1-1 draw at Middlesbrough and last Thursday's FA Cup triumph at Sheffield United.

Asked if his team have turned a corner, Riza said: "We have been working hard. There have been games where we should have had wins, there have been some disappointing results and performances.

"We are just focused on trying to do the job, get it done, pick up points and get ourselves out of this position because we feel we are better than that, but we have got to prove it."

Watford travel to Cardiff on Tuesday (19:45 GMT) looking to end a run of three consecutive defeats in the Championship.

The Hornets have slipped out of the play-off spots and down to ninth - and have also won just twice away from home this season (D2 L8).

The Bluebirds are 23rd following a run of one win in their past 12 league matches (D5 L6)

• Cardiff City are unbeaten across their past four league games against Watford (W3 D1), winning each of the past two in succession. The Welsh side haven't won three in a row against the Hornets since March 2010.

• Watford are unbeaten across their past five away league games against Cardiff City (W4 D1), since a 2-1 defeat in October 2012. Across that time, the Hornets have netted 14 goals in total.

• After a run of four successive home league wins between October/November, Cardiff are winless in their past five such games (D1 L4).

• Watford have lost four of their past five league games (W1) and could lose four such games in succession outside the top flight for the first time since November 2014.

• Only Sunderland (28), Stoke City (23) and Norwich City (18) have had more goal involvements from players aged 21 and under in the Championship this season than Watford (16).

Dafydd Pritchard
BBC Sport Wales

Image source, Rex Features

All football fans love to see a local lad flourishing for their club, and Cardiff City seem to have a homegrown rising star on their hands in the form of Cian Ashford.

The 20-year-old has impressed in the Championship in recent weeks, and the young forward caught the eye with a superbly taken goal in Thursday's 1-0 FA Cup win at Sheffield United.

That was the highlight of a fine all-round display of industrious running and attacking invention which earned Ashford the man of the match award at Bramall Lane.

"Ash is excellent. He listens, he learns, he wants to do well," Cardiff manager Omer Riza told BBC Radio Wales.

"He gets disappointed at times, which is good but bad at times as well because he lets it get to his performance.

"I've said from the start of the season, Cian has got a lot of potential. We all believe in him – he needs to believe in himself more. I'm delighted for him."

Cardiff's captain, Joe Ralls, was similarly impressed.

"He's been brilliant for us, really stepped up. He had a little spell out of the team, he's worked on his game and he's come back with a point to prove," Ralls told Match of the Day.

"That's the real Cian Ashford and he's kicking on now. That was a really well taken goal."

Ralls, Riza and Cardiff's fans may already be aware of Ashford's ability, but he was able to broadcast his skills to a new audience on Thursday as the FA Cup win at Sheffield United was televised live on Match of the Day on BBC One Wales.

Former Wales manager Rob Page – who also played for the Blades as well as the Bluebirds – was one of the pundits pitchside.

"He was the man of the match, he was the standout player," said Page.

"I thought he was brilliant and Cardiff thoroughly deserved the win."

Page will have been aware of Ashford, a Wales Under-21 international, during his time in charge of the national team.

So does he think the Cardiff forward could one day represent his country at senior level?

"He can't worry about what's coming over the next few months," Page said.

"He's got to enjoy this moment. He's got to build on that and keep impressing."

Image source, Rex Features

Cardiff City's FA Cup win at Sheffield United was particularly special for Joe Ralls as the captain celebrated his 400th appearance for the Bluebirds.

The 31-year-old midfielder has spent his entire senior career at Cardiff, making his debut for the club in 2011.

Ralls reached his milestone at Bramall Lane on Thursday, and he was pleased to be able to mark the achievement with a 1-0 victory.

"I'm really proud, massively proud," he told BBC Radio Wales. "I was looking at the young lads in the dressing room and seeing their shirts with their names on for the first time. It doesn't seem that long ago since it was me.

"To reach 400 games for a club that I love – and I've got so many good memories – and to hit that milestone is something I'm really proud of."

Thursday's win was only Cardiff's second in five FA Cup seasons.

The 2008 runners-up now have a fourth-round tie to look forward to on the weekend of 8 February.

"We had some good cup runs a long time ago so it would be nice if we could have another one," said Ralls.

"The boys are really hungry and we're really happy to be in the next round. We've got to keep the momentum going."

Cardiff have endured a testing season in the Championship, where they are second from bottom.

But Ralls is determined to lead his team to safety, and wants to keep racking up the appearances.

"I'm hungry for more. I'm enjoying my football and love being captain of this group," he said.

"It's a pleasure to be playing football with these boys and hopefully I can keep going as long as possible."

Former Wales striker Iwan Roberts has described Cardiff City chairman Mehmet Dalman's message to the club's supporters as "a token gesture".

Dalman's message to supporters comes after fans wrote a highly critical open letter to the board raising "serious concerns" about the state of the Championship club.

Cardiff are currently 23rd in the Championship table and Dalman says the club is ready to reshape its squad in the January transfer window to avoid the prospect of relegation to League One.

Speaking on BBC Wales' Feast of Football podcast, ex-Norwich City and Watford player Roberts believes Cardiff should appoint someone with a football background to their board.

"They've come out as a bit of a token gesture I feel," Roberts said.

"It's a bit too late for Mehmet Dalman to come out and he's talking about a relegation battle – I could have told you that a few weeks ago.

"They've got a massive, massive four months in front of them."

Roberts says the situation underlines the lack of communication between Cardiff's board and its fanbase.

"They never speak to the fans," Roberts added.

"They never give them a plan or where the club's heading to, what they want to do, how they want to approach things and what their thoughts are about bringing a new manager into place.

"There's literally zero communication and that hurts football fans. They like to be involved, they like to feel a part of their football club.

"Because at the end of the day it is the fans' football club.

"I think it would be a great shout for the club to get somebody to sit on the board who has played the game, possibly played for the football club.

"But I think it would be a really good shout for them to get a football-minded person on board to guide them in the right direction."

Ian Hunt
BBC Sport Wales

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Omer Riza's side will be looking to do something no Cardiff team has done in 52 years when they travel to Sheffield United for their FA Cup third-round tie on Thursday (19:00 GMT).

Cardiff's 3-1 win at Bramall Lane in January 1972 is the only time they have beaten the Blades in the competition, having lost more recent cup ties against them in 1999 and 2004.

The class of '72 was full of legendary players who had shocked the mighty Real Madrid in the European Cup Winners' Cup at Ninian Park the previous year, with the likes of Brian Clark, Bobby Woodruff and Gary Bell in the team.

One of the goal scorers in that Sheffield win was club legend Don Murray, a Scottish defender who made more than 400 appearances for the Bluebirds between 1962 and 1975.

"It was a game where I scored one of my few goals for Cardiff - I only scored about three in all my hundreds of games," said Murray, now 78.

"I went up for a corner, it was knocked down and I was stood about six yards out. I had the opportunity to volley it and it flew in.

"It was a real magic moment for me, but the lads took the mickey out of me - 'what are you doing there? Centre halves are not supposed to do that!'"

Murray's fellow defender David Carver and midfielder Woodruff were the other scorers in front of a Bramall Lane crowd of almost 30,000.

"The Sheffield United supporters were always passionate about their football - just like our fans at the old Ninian Park," said Murray.

"The support we had from the Cardiff fans that day was quite something. We played really well, and were delighted to beat them that day."

Cardiff went on to knock out Sunderland in round four that season before losing to eventual FA Cup winners Leeds United in round five.

Murray, who also had spells at Swansea City and Newport County towards the end of his career, still lives in the Cardiff area and attends games occasionally.

He thinks they need to add experience in the transfer window if they are to avoid relegation from the Championship.

"They're going to struggle, I think," said Murray.

"They've had some fairly decent results in the last few games, which I hope can continue.

"When I look at it, they're quite a young side with some promising players there.

"I think to steady and improve things they need three or four experienced and established players to play alongside them."

So what chance do Cardiff have of emulating Murray's team of 72 and knocking United out of the cup on their own turf?

Slim odds, perhaps, given Chris Wilder's promotion-chasing side have not lost at home all season.

"There's always a chance. There's a possibility for them," added Murray.

"I wouldn't be totally confident, but stranger things have happened."

Listen to more with Don Murray during Radio Wales Sport coverage of the game, from 18:30 on BBC Radio Wales and BBC Sounds.