WARNOCK: “THERE’S PLENTY TO PLAY FOR”

“The players are still showing me what they can do,” says the Gaffer…

Neil Warnock held a pre-match press conference looking ahead to this Saturday’s Sky Bet Championship match away to Wigan Athletic.

The 3pm kick-off is the Bluebirds’ penultimate away game of the 2016/17 campaign. But with the end of the season in sight, Neil explained why he feels there’s still a lot riding on City’s final three tests.

“The players have been bright in the past few weeks and we’re not far away now,” he began. “With three games left, although there’s not really anything at stake, I think there’s plenty to play for. The players are still showing me what they can do and what they can’t do. I’m learning all the time.

“It’s different when there’s no edge on the game, but we make our own edge. The qualities and effort that I’m looking for can’t just be switched on.

“The lads know that if they decide to have a day off, they won’t be playing in the next game. 100% effort is the minimum, but I’m very lucky in that it’s a good squad that I’ve inherited.”

Neil also explained what he expects from the Latics this Saturday, as Graham Barrow's men go into the game at the DW Stadium five points adrift from safety.

“I think they’re a good footballing team. They have a lot of possession and they’ve managed to get some results. [Nick] Powell’s had a right good spell in front of goal, hasn’t he? We’ll be tested tomorrow and it will be a really good game, I think.

“We’ve got a couple of lads ill, so we’ll be taking a number young lads with us. Whether any of them get an opportunity – we’ll know more when we’ve trained this afternoon and in the morning when we know what the sickness is like.”