NEIL WARNOCK: "BIGGEST TEST OF MY CAREER ON SMALLEST BUDGET"

‘The Biggest Test Of My Managerial Career,’ Warnock


“If we can survive with the budget we have, I will be walking on water!”

“We are going to have lowest budget there has ever been in the Premier League,” said Warnock.

By Terry Phillips

Tuesday 17th July 2018


Neil Warnock admits he is facing the biggest test of his managerial career.

The Bluebirds manager has achieved a record-breaking eight promotions and is leading his team into the Premier League for 2017-18.

Cardiff City’s budget for the top flight is just over half of Huddersfield Town’s, who are the next lowest, and Warnock says: “This will be the biggest test of my managerial career by an absolute mile.”


City have spent £24m in transfer fees, adding Greg Cunningham, Bobby Reid, Josh Murphy and goalkeeper Alex Smithies. He is still looking to add two more with Liverpool’s Marko Grujic high on his priority list.

“We are going to have lowest budget there has ever been in the Premier League,” said Warnock, speaking on the pitch at Tavistock AFC after Cardiff’s 6-0 pre-season victory.

“But we are going to enjoy being there. I can’t wait for that first game at Bournemouth.

“If we can survive with the budget we have,which is the smallest in the Premier League, I will be walking on water!”


Cunningham, Reid and Murphy all played against Tavistock at their Langsford Park ground in Devon, whole Smithies looks certain to be given his debut against Bodmin Town on Wednesday (7pm).

Sol Bamba also looks certain to play at Bodmin, while Aaron Gunnarsson is likely to spend the next few days training before returning to match action at Torquay United on Friday.

Kenneth Zohore missed the game at Tavistock after being given a couple of days off after his wife gave birth to a baby. He could rejoin the club tomorrow before the match at Bodmin.

Warnock expressed his delight after Cardiff City’s crushing six-goal pre-season win against Tavistock AFC, saying: “The attitude of our players was excellent, there was a good crowd with a lot of fans from Cardiff.


“I’m pleased there were no injuries. Everybody worked hard and I’m delighted with the effort they put in.”

Warnock confirmed he still wants to add a couple of players to his squad, probably on loan deals, and said he is still chasing Grujic, who is with manager Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool squad on their your to America.

But Warnock warned: “We won’t wait for ever. I’ll assess again at the end of this week.

“Liverpool want Marko to come here and the player wants to come, but his agent doesn’t seem keen. Hopefully Marko will decide.

“We’d like him to join us again, but I am not as confident about that as I once was.

“Certainly we need another couple in before the transfer deadline to supplement in case we pick up injuries.”

You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

Life always manages to throw some surprises, I hope Im not giving us the kiss of death but I can see headlines Warnock success on lowest budget.

Life always manages to throw some surprises, I hope Im not giving us the kiss of death but I can see headlines Warnock success on lowest budget.

Perfect finish to the season

Not saying we need to be big spenders but warnock should be given more than the lowest ever budget in the premiership to sign the quality we need to stay up imo. Need some proper quality added to stay up at the moment simple as that.

Not saying we need to be big spenders but warnock should be given more than the lowest ever budget in the premiership to sign the quality we need to stay up imo. Need some proper quality added to stay up at the moment simple as that.

most managers use the media to try get extra funds, and the best ones do it very discretely.

I have to be honest and say I'm not enjoying Warnock comparing himself to Jesus because the money isn't there.

I could go further but won't

How does he know what Huddersfield have to spend.

Change the record FFS. Its more likely to come back and bite us on the backside. We have no idea what other teams spend so stop going on about it and getting excuses in early. Its embarresing

One or two to supplement us ?? We have a weaker midfield than last season we need something in there not supplement

In Neil we trust. Would much rather go into the Premier league doing our business this way rather than last time spending stupid money on people loike Acorn and Caulker who are now playing at their correct level

Change the record FFS. Its more likely to come back and bite us on the backside. We have no idea what other teams spend so stop going on about it and getting excuses in early. Its embarresing

Do you think he is quessing or it may be a long shot that he actually speaks to other managers and asks them

Quiet a few clubs in prem spending low spurs nobody in yet. Everton Newcastle etc7/8 mill, fulham only spent about 4/5 mill more than us so its not all spend from everybody this season have' nt checked others like burnley etc so neil will have to work his magic without saying we are on lowest budget or transfer fund. Imo i think we are going to take a few teams by suprise with our pace in depends on how defensive we play for the 90 mins.

Quiet a few clubs in prem spending low spurs nobody in yet. Everton Newcastle etc7/8 mill, fulham only spent about 4/5 mill more than us so its not all spend from everybody this season have' nt checked others like burnley etc so neil will have to work his magic without saying we are on lowest budget or transfer fund. Imo i think we are going to take a few teams by suprise with our pace in depends on how defensive we play for the 90 mins.

the top clubs have huge budgets whether they spend in the transfer market or not..

Dogfound. yea i know they have big budgets.

Got to stay in this league now that's the task .
Pointless doing all this to get promotion to come down again only to rebuild again that's hard.
We defo need midfielders to create in that area and also to hold as well .
Small budget which so far seems well spent but midfield was an area last year which i thought we struggled a bit.
For me we have to sort it out quick

If you look at the history of final positions in be league there is a direct correlation between the salaries paid and final league positions Very rarely does the lowest budget in terms of salaries paid not get relegated I fully expect us to struggle but let’s hope we are one of the teams that bucks the trend

I think we can do ok ,as Warnock says enjoy it ,we will ,but if your being hammered every week it's gonna be hard

I really don't understand the central midfield situation. Its been a problem for years. Last year at times we were being completely overrun. Despite this he has not strengthened it at all and it's actually weaker. Some games we are gonna be destroyed . These opportunities don't come around often and whilst we don't want to chuck money around to have one of the lowest ever budgets in the Premiership is foolish, irresponsible and extremely naive

Can't help but think, Neil is overplaying this smallest budget line, just a little...

Can't help but think, Neil is overplaying this smallest budget line, just a little...

That's great that, all for smoke and mirrors. Just waiting for proven quality at this level to arrive yes?

I really don't understand the central midfield situation. Its been a problem for years. Last year at times we were being completely overrun. Despite this he has not strengthened it at all and it's actually weaker. Some games we are gonna be destroyed . These opportunities don't come around often and whilst we don't want to chuck money around to have one of the lowest ever budgets in the Premiership is foolish, irresponsible and extremely naive

Agree, it been a problem since way before our last promotion. I hope it will be improved this season.

If he has such a low budget, why was he saying he still has £10 mill and is not sure if he will spend it! this Could be a ploy so he gets players at a competitive price. But for heavens sake he should spend what he has to improve the team!
It's OK playing down any expectations but he is harping on a bit too much about how incredible it will be if he keeps us up.

Can't help but think, Neil is overplaying this smallest budget line, just a little...

That's great that, all for smoke and mirrors. Just waiting for proven quality at this level to arrive yes?

I just feel that Neil is overplaying it a little, we spend a few millions already and I can see us spending a little more. I'm more than happy with the players we got and that have been brought in, just like to see a Striker brought in now.

Not saying we should go out and just waste money, but if the right players come along at the right price, i'm sure the board will back him, one problem as we know, silly money these day's, even top championship players, that a year or two ago, would go for 4-5 million, now are 10-15 million, it's the market we are in!

there is huge money involved in being in the premier league, we all know that,bottom line, if we are competitive by the time we get to January, I'm sure they will give Neil a little more to stay up, good to see the club being sensible, and i'm sure in today's market, they will make available a sensible budget to allow Neil to do his job.

don't blame him for not wanting to pay 15 million for Matt Phillips, again that shows, what a silly market we are in, but I do think we will have a competitive budget based on the bottom end sides of course.

I don’t really care what the bookies think, massively underestimated the club last season. I believe we have fantastic team spirit, the likes of which the Prem hasn’t seen since Leicester’s shock win. Now let’s not get carried away, my dream is to stave off relegation. I think we have a good chance. I know many of us worry about the midfield and for me the RB position, but I just think Warnock isn’t silly and will address the issues. Reading between the lines, it sounds like a transfer deal was tabled for Grujic and the agent is stalling. A DM has to come in, glad Warnock is bluffing his way through the summer transfers. He’s done well so far, a bit of steel and another creative ball player in the middle and our season will be set.

I really don't understand the central midfield situation. Its been a problem for years. Last year at times we were being completely overrun. Despite this he has not strengthened it at all and it's actually weaker. Some games we are gonna be destroyed . These opportunities don't come around often and whilst we don't want to chuck money around to have one of the lowest ever budgets in the Premiership is foolish, irresponsible and extremely naive

I agree.

We seem to have one eye on the 2019/20 Championship season already, which I find disappointing. In a way, I wish Burnley hadn't bounced back from being relegated from the Premier, because it seems like Warnock is using them as a template. It's an arduous struggle to get out of the Championship, due to its competitive nature. I wouldn't be confident of us bouncing back at the first attempt, bearing in mind, some players would have had their heads turned by being in the top-flight and won't want to step back down, while others will have had their confidence destroyed in the process of being relegated and the buzz within the club would have evaporated.

Whilst I'm not advocating throwing money around, I think we need to find a happy medium ... we won't be able to huff & puff our way through a season of Premier League football. I think we are still 4 players short of what we require - a right-back, a striker and 2 midfielders who are all better than what we currently have.

Quiet a few clubs in prem spending low spurs nobody in yet. Everton Newcastle etc7/8 mill, fulham only spent about 4/5 mill more than us so its not all spend from everybody this season have' nt checked others like burnley etc so neil will have to work his magic without saying we are on lowest budget or transfer fund. Imo i think we are going to take a few teams by suprise with our pace in depends on how defensive we play for the 90 mins.

Spurs already have about 11 World Cup players in their squad, five from England alone.

I really don't understand the central midfield situation. Its been a problem for years. Last year at times we were being completely overrun. Despite this he has not strengthened it at all and it's actually weaker. Some games we are gonna be destroyed . These opportunities don't come around often and whilst we don't want to chuck money around to have one of the lowest ever budgets in the Premiership is foolish, irresponsible and extremely naive

I agree.

We seem to have one eye on the 2019/20 Championship season already, which I find disappointing. In a way, I wish Burnley hadn't bounced back from being relegated from the Premier, because it seems like Warnock is using them as a template. It's an arduous struggle to get out of the Championship, due to its competitive nature. I wouldn't be confident of us bouncing back at the first attempt, bearing in mind, some players would have had their heads turned by being in the top-flight and won't want to step back down, while others will have had their confidence destroyed in the process of being relegated and the buzz within the club would have evaporated.

Whilst I'm not advocating throwing money around, I think we need to find a happy medium ... we won't be able to huff & puff our way through a season of Premier League football. I think we are still 4 players short of what we require - a right-back, a striker and 2 midfielders who are all better than what we currently have.

Great posts, this current squad is nowhere near good enough to stay up. Team spirit and a good manager will only get you so far, we need another 3 to 4 quality players to have any chance. I'm not being negative, I'm being realistic.

Either Warnock is playing silly buggers and keeping his cards close to his chest, or he is preparing the fan base for likely relegation and then a dig at promotion the following season with what appears to be a stronger squad than last season.
In my opinion a risky strategy; look at the top squads in the championship who failed to make it this year.

I really don't understand the central midfield situation. Its been a problem for years. Last year at times we were being completely overrun. Despite this he has not strengthened it at all and it's actually weaker. Some games we are gonna be destroyed . These opportunities don't come around often and whilst we don't want to chuck money around to have one of the lowest ever budgets in the Premiership is foolish, irresponsible and extremely naive

I agree.

We seem to have one eye on the 2019/20 Championship season already, which I find disappointing. In a way, I wish Burnley hadn't bounced back from being relegated from the Premier, because it seems like Warnock is using them as a template. It's an arduous struggle to get out of the Championship, due to its competitive nature. I wouldn't be confident of us bouncing back at the first attempt, bearing in mind, some players would have had their heads turned by being in the top-flight and won't want to step back down, while others will have had their confidence destroyed in the process of being relegated and the buzz within the club would have evaporated.

Whilst I'm not advocating throwing money around, I think we need to find a happy medium ... we won't be able to huff & puff our way through a season of Premier League football. I think we are still 4 players short of what we require - a right-back, a striker and 2 midfielders who are all better than what we currently have.

I agree with you , all very well us trying to replicate the Burnley model but we forget that Dyche had a fired up Joey Barton leading the team .

Whatever your views on Barton he is precisely the sort of player we need a tough tackling midfielder with a decent set piece who is streetwise and has a few PL season under his belt .

I really don't understand the central midfield situation. Its been a problem for years. Last year at times we were being completely overrun. Despite this he has not strengthened it at all and it's actually weaker. Some games we are gonna be destroyed . These opportunities don't come around often and whilst we don't want to chuck money around to have one of the lowest ever budgets in the Premiership is foolish, irresponsible and extremely naive

I agree.

We seem to have one eye on the 2019/20 Championship season already, which I find disappointing. In a way, I wish Burnley hadn't bounced back from being relegated from the Premier, because it seems like Warnock is using them as a template. It's an arduous struggle to get out of the Championship, due to its competitive nature. I wouldn't be confident of us bouncing back at the first attempt, bearing in mind, some players would have had their heads turned by being in the top-flight and won't want to step back down, while others will have had their confidence destroyed in the process of being relegated and the buzz within the club would have evaporated.

Whilst I'm not advocating throwing money around, I think we need to find a happy medium ... we won't be able to huff & puff our way through a season of Premier League football. I think we are still 4 players short of what we require - a right-back, a striker and 2 midfielders who are all better than what we currently have.

Great posts, this current squad is nowhere near good enough to stay up. Team spirit and a good manager will only get you so far, we need another 3 to 4 quality players to have any chance. I'm not being negative, I'm being realistic.

I think we all knew the massive debts that this club had hanging over it at the begining of last season. I doubt if many fans seriously thought we would be playing Premier League football this season considering how little money Warnock had to spend. I am just going to enjoy the ride and hope for the best. I thought a play off place at a push was the most we would have achieved last season, this is one big bonus as far as I am concerned. I am hoping for the best, but accept we are up against it. One thing I am confident of is that our players and manager will give it their best shot. I just hope the fans give 100% support as well, and don't get on the players backs when the inevitable defeats come around.