BREAKING: ' NEIL WARNOCK TONIGHT AT CARDIFF CITY STADIUM '

' NEIL WARNOCK TONIGHT AT CARDIFF CITY STADIUM '


NEIL WARNOCK:

Paterson an 'investment'

"It augurs well if we can get one or two back in the next game and them all back by Christmas. Rhys (Healey) is looking really sharp in training and back into the full training this week, tackling and everything else, same as Paterson was."

"I spoke to Vincent about signing Paterson and Camp and they were both injured. But I knew we’d need Camp before the end of the season and we’d have Paterson by November. I said to Ken at the time ‘this is an investment for the club’, we only paid peanuts for him. He’s 23 but he looks 33... he must have had a tough upbringing! He just struggles with people running at him so that’s why I’m playing him in front. But my beautiful right back is an amazing player at the moment..."







January money from Vincent Tan?

NEIL WARNOCK:

"If I wanted someone in particular I would ask, obviously Vincent has the last shout but I don’t think there’s any need to do that. We only spent £1.5m net in the summer so it’s a matter of looking. Do we need another body in that position? When I was at Sheffield United, we lost three centre-halves in a week and we couldn’t get anyone till January."

"Matt Connolly was 19th man on Saturday and there wasn’t a bit of trouble. But if I had an injury tomorrow I’d play Connolly without a minute’s hesitation. He’ll always have a job at my club because I can trust him. "

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' NEIL WARNOCK TONIGHT AT CARDIFF CITY STADIUM '



NEIL WARNOCK:

Sour grapes?

"One thing I don’t like is being compared to Ken Dodd... other than that I’m alright!"



NEIL WARNOCK:

What a week!

"It really couldn’t have got much better. We’ve had problems but we haven’t bleated on about them, with Ken and Mendez and Gunnars, and poor Kadeem too."

"But we looked at the opposition and how we could nullify them and create things. It doesn’t get better than three wins and three clean sheets in a week does it!"

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On Wardy's goal

NEIL WARNOCK:

"Ken, myself and Mehmet, we worked on Vincent for two weeks so we could sign Danny Ward. I could understand Vincent saying he didn’t want us to sign anyone from Rotherham ‘cos they got relegated."
"When we signed Wardy I was delighted but then we got Bogle. You’ve got to have three strikers, that depth to sustain your position."
"It epitomised the whole squad on Saturday. It was great to see all the lads get on board, the team spirit is great at the moment."






Do Cardiff fans mind the style?

NEIL WARNOCK:

"I like Dean Smith but he said one or two things... and it’s too easy to say ‘it’s Warnock’ or ‘it’s the way he plays’."

"But if he means we’re organised or we’re hard to play against. We played some fabulous stuff at Forest and I don’t think our fans mind the way we’re playing at the moment. "

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Warnock sings Damour's praises


NEIL WARNOCK:

"He’s probably the lowest paid in the team at the minute but he’s underrated and a lovely lad. It’s very good for me because I can shout at him and he doesn’t understand me! He has to go to Sol and ask ‘what does he say’? But I’m not sure Sol tells him exactly what I say."

"He’s been a breath of fresh air. We haven’t actually lost a game when Loic has started!"

"I’ve been speaking to his agent about giving Loic a new contract."

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Mendez could be back soon - Warnock

What about when the injured players return?

NEIL WARNOCK:

"It’ll be like having four new players, I think. Mendez was supposed to be back against Brentford but suffered a flare up. I was a quick winger like Mendez-Laing so I know what it’s like... but if you come back too soon it can be bad."

"So we decided to leave him against Barnsley and that he’d be ok for Saturday. But I thought after getting the result at Barnsley why risk it?"

Would you swap Cardiff's defence...?

NEIL WARNOCK:

"Would you swap our centre-halves for Arsenals or Liverpools? I wouldn’t. Sol doesn’t know anything other than how I want him to play."

"It’s good at the minute, even Joe (Bennett) is defending how I want him to! He was a bit delicate in his tackling so I had to tell him what I want of him. Since he’s had his little baby he’s been superb... I said ‘it must have been because he’s been sleeping in another room!’"

Did Warnock see it coming?

NEIL WARNOCK:

"I probably did a couple of days after I arrived because I got legless.. I am joking by the way!"

"The last few clubs I’ve got were all struggling. But I’ve always enjoyed that role and I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Rotherham. They gave me back the zest which I lost a bit in the Premier League. I always like my lads to die for me and be in the trenches with me. And all these lads would be in the trenches with me!"

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Warnock's favourite away game?

NEIL WARNOCK:

"I get stick at so many it’s irrelevant, really! We used to have money, me, Blacky and Jeppy how long it’ll be until the first ‘Warnock ‘s a.. whatever’. Ipswich used to be the best, they sang it when I came out!"

"But I do love Sheffield Wednesday. I always make a point of coming off the bus last and wave."

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Best moment at Cardiff so far?


NEIL WARNOCK:

"Possibly Pilkington’s goal at Bristol City and the way we came back... and that being a local derby. So many really. I was shocked at Mendez’s goal when he cut back."

"That local derby though, us coming back and winning, that was great. I expected to win (the Severnside derby in his first match) because we couldn’t get much worse, could we?"

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Great quote


NEIL WARNOCK:

"90 per cent of winning games has nothing to do with training and tactics. You don’t take over a club and decide how you’re going to play.. you see what you’ve got. It’s amazing what lads can achieve if you’ve got that belief."

"What I say to teams is ‘I’ve not come here to pick money up because I’ve got enough. I come here to win."

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Passion? It's always evident in Warnock

But how does he remain so passionate?


NEIL WARNOCK:

"It’s just how I am. I get terrible nerves before a game. I can’t eat until 6 o clock after a game. It’s what drives me on, that winning feeling. When I’m on my tractor, feeding the chickens or on my school run, I can’t get that buzz. Sharon kicked me out of the house and that really got me going for Rotherham."

"It was an impossible task at a nice club with lovely people. But nothing is impossible. And it’s his own fault, if he’d given me what I wanted I would have stayed (at Rotherham)."

"We spoke to Blackburn and Forest and Derby County. Originally I’d been to Derby (for an interview) and I said anyone could manager Derby County for 30 games but you need me because I can manage those extra 16 games. I said to them I’ll get you promoted and then I’ll find you another manager. They said they need that stability. Guess who it was? Nigel Pearson. Three months later, he’d gone!"

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The holy trinity?


NEIL WARNOCK:

"Warnock confirms he had Sol Bamba and Junior Hoilett waiting to join him at a club... and it could have been Forest, Blackburn or Derby. But ended up being Cardiff!"

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Bamba and Hoilett


NEIL WARNOCK:

"We signed them straight away and they’ve both been instrumental in what we’re trying to achieve. They’re both great guys and they care."

Warnock and Cardiff... a great fit

NEIL WARNOCK:

"I used to like the old Ninian Park. It is my cup of tea here. Sharon told me ‘I’ve just been on all the forums and Cardiff City websites and I can’t believe it... but they all like you!’"

"Nowadays you get the sack in six games and I’m fortunate because I can do it year to year and I don’t worry about getting the sack because I think I can get a better job."

"When you’re younger you worry about paying the mortgage and that’s natural but I don’t have to worry about that now."

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Confidence...

Warnock tells a great story about what he told the players during a pre-season meeting.

NEIL WARNOCK:

"I’m better than that manager, I’m better than that manager, I’m better than that manager. There’s no manager I’m not better than! I’m not big-headed I’m just highly confident."

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Warnock beef with Sir Alex?


NEIL WARNOCK:

"I’m not Alex Ferguson’s best friend but we’ll go into that another night. .."

All together

NEIL WARNOCK:


"Vincent and the lads have learned from me. I try and build a club, it’s important we’re all together, commercial department and ticket off. I had that at Sheffield United and told them ‘you won’t know what you’ve got till I’ve gone’ and they plummeted for years."

"Chris (Wilder) is bringing it back because he’s bread and butter like me."

"Groundsman.. women who do the washing... kitman, we’re all together. And the lads have done well in that. Morrison, Sol Bamba. Morrison has his critics but I love him. He should just worry if I leave!"

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The future of football?


NEIL WARNOCK:

"I would imagine one day, not in my lifetime, there will be a world league with the money that’s involved now. People get greedier and they have to fill that. It’d be a shame because we in Britain have got something nobody else has. 16,000 people watching Portsmouth in the bottom division. There are games you can’t predict in our division."

"That’s why I think the Championship has got something nothing else has got."

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Next... will Warnock move upstairs?

Any chance of Neil Warnock becoming a director of football character at Cardiff?


NEIL WARNOCK:

"I thought that eight years ago! I thought Plymouth might help me, with me living down there. The chief exec at the time thought it was too much of a threat for the manager. I do think there’s a place. When I’ve retired, I can’t get that buzz any other way."

"I wouldn’t interfere with the manager."

"My hardest job was in the summer signing 10 players and dealing with agents. So somebody to take that job away from the manager, a club this size needs a figure like that. It’s hard to trust people in football, there’s that many ‘takers’."

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Any players Neil is targeting?


NEIL WARNOCK:

"You’re always looking because you don’t know what’s around the corner. You can get injuries you’re not expecting and you’ve got to cover for all angles. We’re looking all the time and looking at bringing four or five Under-23s in to supplement what we’ve got."

"Unless somebody left I can’t envisage bringing someone else in. If I wanted, and somebody cropped up who wanted to sign and would make us a better team, I would take it by ear."

"Everyone wants us to be successful on the field and it’ll be nice to repay Vincent."

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Heated half time discussions with players?


NEIL WARNOCK:

"There’s been two or three players in my career who’ve voiced their disapproval, I’ve told them why I’m like how I am. And then I get rid of them!"

Who is the best player in the Championship?

NEIL WARNOCK:

"When I prepare against a team - and we’ve got the best IT guys by a mile - we look at the opponents and plan how we’re going to play. But I never notice an opposing player, except maybe Brooks for Sheffield United."

"But I’m biased and say the best players are our players... the best centre-half is Bamba, the best winger is Mendez and the best centre-forward is Zohore! "

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Goalkeepers

NEIL WARNOCK:


"I think Murphy is better than most keepers in this league. You’ve got to try and keep them onside because you don’t want them to leave.

"Neil (Etheridge) has had a few errors but they’re getting fewer, (Andy) Dibble is working on that. It’s only under pressure that he makes a bad kick but when I look at others’ mistakes the last few weeks... good goalies are the ones that make the fewest mistakes."

"Neil is only young, he’s not played at this level before. You can see the lads going up to him the last few weeks and they trust him. Camp is not far away either."

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Will Warnock be playing 4-4-2?

NEIL WARNOCK"

No, who’s next?

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How about a cup run, Neil?


NEIL WARNOCK:

If you get me 20,000 fans (for a cup tie), I’ll play a full team.

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Which manager hates Warnock the most?


NEIL WARNOCK:

"We haven’t got time for that, really! Shall I tell you the lads who don’t hate me? Dean Smith doesn’t, I like him. I’m struggling after that really."

"If people don’t like you, it’s usually because they’re jealous. If I were liked, I wouldn’t be here tonight, I’d be gardening! "

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Warnock's favourite referees?


NEIL WARNOCK:

"I don’t think video refereeing would have helped (Steve Martin, the referee for Cardiff v Millwall). We’ve had some bad ones and two or three really good ones. The ones I’ve complained about this year, the biggest thing for them is they don’t understand the game. That’s the biggest problem, the refs have never played the game and don’t understand the little nudges."

"You get the other side, the lad Andrew Madeley, he’s too good for this league and the guy on Sunday, Peter Bankes, he was good."

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Warnock to recommend a manager?

Will Warnock recommend a name as a future Bluebirds’ boss?

NEIL WARNOCK:

"It’s not being disrespectful but at my age I don’t look much further than just around the corner. Health-wise, if it’s okay, I’ll probably do another year here. Not many managers leave a club and the board actually listen to your ideas."

"It depends on the circumstances. The Championship is a tough league and it’s a long slog, 10 months of the year."

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Warnock on Jeppo


NEIL WARNOCK:

"If Ronnie Jepson didn’t look like a lumberjack, he’d have got a top job by now!"

Warnock's rallying cry

NEUIL WARNOCK:

"When I went to Derby, the owner there Mel Morris put a drone watching training, sending it back to him. (To Ken Choo), I don’t want you getting any ideas, Ken! You’ve got a laugh at things like that, it’s not about working hard. Does working hard make you a good manager?"

"It’s not like that, putting time in for the sake of putting time in. It’s about - can you do it against Barnsley on a Tuesday night?"


"I do get driven but it’s not the financial thing, it’s wanting to succeed. I want to be proud of that team and show people ‘that’s my team’. You don’t get it very often. I’ve had seven promotions and they all still have reunions."

"This group is very very similar. This is the best staff I’ve had now. To the players, I said at my barbecue in the summer, I know if we’re not careful we’ll get promotion this year. We’ll have our critics but we’ll stick together now."

"When you’ve been in the game as long as me you can see it coming."

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