by Mark Denham
Stephen McPhail spoke of his delight following the Bluebirds' 4-1 win against Derby County on Wednesday evening, as well as his own 'Man of the Match' performance.
"That was a massive result tonight, we're absolutely delighted" said Macca. "We were the only teams playing in the Championship this evening too of course so we had to make sure we got the three points whatever; it was even more pleasing to perform like we did and get the four goals".
Macca was awarded the sponsors 'Man of the Match' award for the second game running, something that has pleased the Irishman following his return to first-team action.
"I've obviously been out for a little while and hadn't really featured much over the past three months so it's great to be back and helping to push the boys around me a little bit. I'm starting to feel that little bit sharper now I've had some game time so I'm pleased with that. Competition is really good here at the moment with plenty of players challenging for players".
With Joe Ledley unavailable on Wednesday due to injury, Macca teamed up with Gavin Rae in centre midfield and slid the Scot through for City's second goal of the evening and his first goal of the season.
"It's always nice to set up your midfield partner like that; in fairness to Gav, I couldn't really miss him - he made a great run in to the area and slid the ball away superbly which was great for him.
The Bluebirds travel to Crystal Palace on the weekend before a massive game with fellow promotion hopefuls Burnley at Ninian Park on Easter Monday. Stephen spoke of the importance of maximum points in the coming fixtures.
"We've got two games in two days coming up with little opportunity to rest, so these are obviously going to be crucial fixtures for us" Stephen continued. "If we can win those two games then we'll be well placed to push for one of the top two places still".
