Neil Warnock taking nothing for granted after Cardiff record seventh straight win

Posted Wednesday, March 14, 2018 by PA

Cardiff boss Neil Warnock insists his promotion-chasing side will keep their feet on the ground despite opening up a seven-point gap over closest rivals Aston Villa with a 3-1 win at Brentford.

Goals from Sol Bamba, Callum Paterson and Kenneth Zohore made it seven straight wins for the Bluebirds at Griffin Park as they cancelled out Neal Maupay’s early opener.

But Warnock is tkaing nothing for granted.

He insisted: “We don’t get carried away because if you do, you get kicked in the teeth in the Championship. I am not confident of anything in this league because we have some difficult games coming up.

“All the boys are enjoying it though. They know that all the pressure is on the big clubs because of the expectation on their players.”

He added: “To win seven on the trot is a great feeling.

“In December I thought we’d never win another game because we lost four on the trot, but this is amazing.

“We showed great character after going one down but that’s what they are like… they are all together with great spirit, and long may it continue.”

Warnock paid tribute to a Brentford side that flew out of the traps, and admitted: “That is the first time we’ve come across a team as good as that. In the first 10 minutes I thought they were brilliant.

“But we gradually got into it. We knew we had to work harder than we’ve ever had to before to match their movement and passing. After 20 minutes we got a grip and looked dangerous every time we went forward.

“Everyone put a shift in tonight but now it’s on to the next game. My lads know the situation and are enjoying it and they know we might lose games before the end of the season, but then others will too.”

Brentford head coach Dean Smith was critical of referee James Linington, but conceded sloppy defending was the main reason for his side’s play-off setback.

“It was a game where we really needed a strong referee but it stunk of inconsistency tonight,” he said.

“There were pushes and shoulder barges all over the field that were either being pulled up or let go and against the physicality of Cardiff you need to know where you stand,” he said.

“That said I’m not sure whether a couple of their goals were because they were physical and dominant or we were soft. It was certainly two very contrasting styles of play.”

He added: “We were excellent for the first 20 minutes but we left the back door open a bit too often and they have pace that can break you down.

“We missed the physicality of Henrik Dalsgaard tonight whose wife has just had a baby girl, but at half-time, we still thought we could make a few tweaks.

“Just before their third, their lad has made a great block but in the end it’s down to fine margins and we were on the wrong side of that margin.”