Article: Nick Collins
Queen's Park Rangers manager Luigi De Canio was full of praise for Dave Jones's Bluebirds after they outclassed his side at Ninian Park, but said his team will be more of a handful by next season's clash.
City walked out 3-1 winners over a Hoops side that included seven new players, paid for by new owners Flavio Briatore, Bernie Ecclestone and the world's fifth richest man, Lakshmi Mittal.
The three men's combined £22 billion cashpot has made QPR the world's wealthiest team, but their new signings have not gelled yet, and De Canio, speaking through an interpreter, admitted they had been outplayed by the home side.
He said: "Well done to Cardiff. They really surprised us and took advantage of our mistakes, and objectively we did get the game wrong.
"We conceded a first goal and gave them the opportunity to play the game they wanted. They were also very good at running into the spaces we made available for them."
The former Napoli and Siena manager only arrived in London in October, but compared to many of the players in his current squad he is part of the furniture at Loftus Road.
Rangers splashed out over £2 million during the January transfer window on seven new faces, and the Italian admitted it may be a while before his team shows what they are capable of.
But he played down suggestions it could take the best part of the season for them to gel as a unit. "It will definitely take some time, hopefully not several months, that's a bit too long," he said.
The boss is confident he can build his Hoops side into promotion candidates, and is looking forward to a bright future under the club's new management.
"We have an idea and a project and we are building towards that," he said. But he is aware the transition from relegation-battlers to title-contenders will not happen overnight.
"It might be next season, it might be in two seasons, but we've got the ideas and that's what we're building towards," he said. "So the idea is to be a competitive team in this league, whether it is next year or the one after."
