MALKY THRILLED FOR BRAVE CITY FANS
With over nine hundred City fans in attendance despite the weather conditions and four hundred and seventy mile round trip, Malky Mackay was extremely complementary of those who braved the conditions to be with his 2-1 winning side at Bloomfield Road.
“I thought it was unbelievable,” he said after the game. “I actually looked over in the first half and there was about twenty of them with their tops off. Considering the arctic conditions up here it’s not so bad, but we realise how bad Cardiff is right now and yesterday and for them to come up here on a night like this when it’s live on TV as well shows how much it means to them. Our fans mean a lot to all of my players and its fantastic the way they have supported us far and wide through this season.
“I really can’t thank them enough for coming up here because the noise they produced the whole night was fantastic and I’m really pleased that they are going back with the three points.”
In reference to his side’s first win at Bloomfield Road since the 2007/08 season, he added, “I’m absolutely delighted with I think our first win at Blackpool in five years. I can see why, it’s a tough place to come, it’s never been easy and I thought we were excellent tonight. It’s our fourth away win in a row and it shows the steeliness and determination of our team.
“We had to tactically change slightly in the second half and we went on the front foot a little more in terms of winning the first and second balls. I knew if we did that we could break on the counter and hurt them.
Tommy Smith made his first start for ‘City since his three month lay-off with a hamstring injury and Malky was impressed, not only Tommy’s performance, but also what turned out to be a fine winning goal.
“You can see why I’m glad to get him back; he’s a top quality player and he’s someone I’ve known very well as a footballer and I know what he can bring to this club,” Malky said. “It was a really bad hamstring tear that he took when he was just getting into his stride in the team and tonight I thought through the whole game he was exceptional. We knew that we were pushing him to the limit to get him to the point we did and thankfully I didn’t take him off five minutes before, but that’s management.”
Regardless of the ten point gap at the top of the Championship table, the Cardiff boss is under no illusions of the challenges still facing his side for the remainder of the season.
“At the moment it’s just making sure you look at the next team in front of you and work the way we have been, working consistently,” he said. “The boys are applying themselves to the manor that the coaches and myself ask them to do.”
