Warnock: "I think Cardiff City Stadium can become a fortress!"
By Cardiff City FC
19th August 2018
Neil Warnock addressed the assembled press and media at Cardiff City Stadium, following the Bluebirds’ opening Premier League home fixture and first point of the campaign.
The Gaffer started by giving his opinion on the penalty decision and what that would have meant after City’s terrific display.
NEIL WARNOCK:
“I think sometimes you don’t get what you deserve,” began Neil. “If that penalty had gone in, it would have been a double whammy because I don’t think Kenedy should have been on the pitch. I thought it was poetic justice the miss, especially with Kenedy taking it and that would have been a massive blow to us if it had gone in.
“There’s never a dull moment and for a 0-0 draw it was quite exciting. It’s great to be in the Premier League because the standard of refereeing is unbelievable.
“I was really pleased with the lads and thought we played some good football. We’ve got to work harder to create more chances. But we’re delighted just not with the boys but the fans aswell – it’s great to be back home. I enjoyed it.
“There was a full house nearly, a great atmosphere and the fans were brilliant. They’ve gone home really happy today because the lads played some good football. I think Cardiff City Stadium can become a fortress and even the top six sides won’t enjoy coming here.
“I was really pleased with the whole afternoon apart from not scoring and we’ve got to work harder on that. The least we deserved was a point so we can brush up on one or two things. We’ve got to work harder on the training ground and we’ve got the squad that we’ve got.
“I think we could’ve been better in the last third with our decision making and have got to stress the options that we have. We’ll probably play more with these lads in midfield, which will help us but we just need to get more out of the striker and set pieces. I thought our free-kicks were poor today, which has been our strength so there’s things to work on there.”
And the Gaffer also took time to praise new signings Harry Arter and Víctor Camarasa before revealing his pleasure with Kenneth Zohore and others’ displays.
“A few lads haven’t played for a long, long time and I don’t think Harry Arter or Víctor Camarasa have played for a quite a while along with Kenneth Zohore,” he continued. “Last week, Harry couldn’t play, and Víctor had only come onboard, but you see what they give us; that quality and make us play more.
“That’s what we need, we want to entertain and play well. I’m really proud today to be Manager of the Club. I thought the Club right the way down today, this is what we’ve worked so hard to do and we’re not going to give it up without a fight. I was really pleased for the lads today.
“Kenneth played really well though in the last 10-15 minutes he fatigued a bit. I wanted to take him off before Junior Hoilett went down. We’ve got to get him fitter, so he can last 90 minutes. Josh Murphy can be something special and it was nice to see [Nathaniel] Mendez-Laing and Bobby Reid come on as well because we’ve got a few strings.”
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