The previous article, dated February 15th, published the fans views of Cardiff City's curent situation under Russell Slade.
On Monday Wales Online were given access to Russell Slade for his thoughts on the survey and the situation at the moment.
Here's how it went.
Q: What was your reaction to the WalesOnline survey?
RS: Every supporter is entitled to have a view, it’s important to listen and I will always be open and honest with them. If they want to say how they feel that is their prerogative and I have no problem with that. Cardiff City is, after all, their club.
We have got through a lot of work in a short time. There was a need to trim the wage bill and we did that with 11 or 12 players going out.
Q: 81% of fans who voted in the survey said you should not be given more time. How do you react to that?
RS: History in football tells you that the longer a manager is given the more chance there is of the club being a success. That’s fact, not just me saying that. When I came into the football club is was in a serious, near critical situation. There were a lot of players, a lot of personnel. I don’t think any club did more business than Cardiff City in the transfer window with 11 or 12 players going out.
Clearly it’s important to stick to the facts. And the facts are that this club is going through a period of transition. I know fans don’t want to hear that about their club, but right now that is what is happening.
Q: You said there was a need to trim the wage bill. I have been told that it was £12m. Is that true?
RS: You wouldn’t be too far away with that figure.
Q: What do you feel the situation is with Cardiff. Should fans be looking down and worrying about relegation or looking up towards the top half?
RS: We have come off a really difficult period where we played a series of matches against top Championship teams.
If you take out a magnifying glass and look a bit closer we picked up points against Fulham and Charlton, while we drew our last two fixtures. Yes, we would all have liked more than two points. Other than that we lost narrowly against Norwich and Brentford.
I have to be honest and say we are not at the same stage as some of those clubs yet, otherwise we would have taken more points from what was a difficult run of games. But we are competitive with other teams outside the top group and I can see us picking up more points now.
I’ve talked about an iceberg before. You see the top and results have not gone well, but there is a lot of hard work going on.
I do feel that despite the results that progress is being made. That’s because I am with players and staff day-in, day-out
I see new players settling in, moving forward. But it will be a process and we must ensure we keep moving forward.
Q: Are you concerned that Cardiff could be dragged into a relegation battle?
RS: Our job is to ensure that, at the very least, Cardiff City are in the Championship next season. Sometimes it only takes two positive results to get some confidence and momentum back. That would result in people feeling a little bit better about their club and we can start to climb the table.
My sights are firmly set on Cardiff finishing in the top half, I’d love more, of course, and we will press for more. We want to finish top six.
I am positive by nature and would not give up on that, but it’s crucial that we see continued progress. I do see that,
It’s slow at the moment, but over the last three games, even though results have not been fantastic, we feel we have made progress.
When you talk about progress most people want to see three points earned and not two points from our last three fixtures. I understand that.
Q: Many fans described Cardiff’s style of play as ‘downright boring’. How do you react to that?
RS: Our last match was certainly dour. It was a like a chess game. If we had scored a goal, which we felt we deserved, fans would have left the stadium in more of a positive mood than after a stalemate.
Q: What is your relationship like with the players - and do you have enough leaders in the group?
RS: I take your point about leadership. But to get good leaders in football and on the pitch is extremely hard. You need those gov’nors, the leaders, in your team. You could point a finger and say we could be lacking in that area a little bit. They are not easy to find, not easy to get, and you have to wait for the right one to be available at the right price in the right position.
A lot of things have to drop into place to find that right leader.
Q: Lee Peltier has been captain at former club and looks as though he could be a good fit to take a leading role. What are your thoughts?
RS: I’ve known him for a while, having signed Lee from Liverpool for £25,000 when I was Yeovil manager. He’s a good player and was always going to go on and be an accomplished Championship player.
He has proved in three games what a good signing he has been, arguably one of our best players. He is a bit more of a talker and organiser out there which helps.
Q: How do you deal with criticism in difficult times? Do you get down and depressed?
RS: You just have to focus on the next game. trying to achieve and see progress, I want improvement from the group.
It’s vitally important that we continue to show some progress.
I want the players to respond individually and as a group. I want each of them to show something which makes me want to pick them. They must show they are offering something to the team.
The attitude of players over the last two or three games has been good in terms of application. Fitness levels have risen and that is shown by the numbers we get back from tests. The players and much stronger overall than they were. That shows how much work they have put in.
They are all lasting the course of matches better when the fixtures come along thick and fast.
Q: Peter Whittingham has not been in the best of form. What is you view on him? We haven’t seen the best of him for some time.
RS: Players will go through periods when they are not at their best, but there is not a player who goes out trying to produce a below par performance.
Whitts loves playing for Cardiff City. He has real quality, great feet. From any set play or deal ball situation he is excellent.
We are trying to find ways of getting him on the ball more which will help us dominate a little more in possession.’
Q: What is his best position?
RS: He has that flexibility in him to play various positions, That’s something we will look at because, like Steven Gerrard at Liverpool, he needs to settle into a little slot. I am not comparing Whitts to Gerrard, but talking about how they need to adapt their game.
Gerrard has adapted a little in the latter stages of games.
The coaching staff and I work with Whitts all the time. He is comfortable playing anywhere in midfield. He likes bodies in and around him sometimes in midfield and his preference would probably be a three-man midfield at times.
But that can mean we can’t go with two strikers. It’s swings and roundabouts. We have gone three at times away, of course, but it also depends on the opposition and how we need to play against them.
Q: Fabio has not played as much as might have been expected. What is his situation?
RS: Fabio is part of our squad all the time and is a fixture. He has had an injury niggle, but is certainly close to fitness. People may think he should have had more pitch time, but I have felt that Malone has done well since he came in, particularly going forward.
He was responsible for setting up Kenwyne Jones’ goal at Sheffield Wednesday.
Q: Has Brazilian star Fabio been under-used this season?
RS : During our home match against Brighton, apart from one decision to head the ball back, he was solid again. Scott is an excellent athlete.
We have created competition for places. Fabio has also played in midfield, wide on the right, off the bench and has an ability to do that.
He is very much part of our group.
Q: How important a signing was Eoin Doyle? And what about Conor McAleny?
RS: It’s early days at the moment. He will be involved in his third Cardiff game when we play Blackburn. We are watching him every day in training and working to get the best out of him.
He created a couple of chances for himself at Sheffield Wednesday with his running, but it’s early. He’s only been here what seems a few seconds.
Conor has very good feet, but has not played first team level for a bit. We did take him off in the last game when he was becoming fatigued.
He has plenty to offer over coming weeks.
Q: What are you hoping for over the rest of this season?
RS: We have 16 matches left. That’s a third of our season.
We massively want to see further improvement, further understanding among group. New players gelling more and more with those who were here before.
We have restructured a little with Paul Trollope, while Kevin Nicholson is with the under-21 team. Both will do well for Cardiff City.
Trolls and I can bounce ideas off each other. He knows the Championship.
Q: How did you decide on Trollope?
RS: I looked around at who was available. Chris Hughton went to Brighton and as Paul had worked with him before there was a chance he would follow.
But we spoke and he was interested from the outset. Trolls and I know each other well and we also had a three-hour chat over coffee about philosophies, the football club and so much more. We covered a wide range of subjects.
The chemistry between us is important, of course, while he has already linked with rest of staff as well.
Q: What is your feeling about Cardiff City and their current situation?
RS: You get frustrated at not making more progress. You probably don’t realise as a manager exactly what the situation at a club is until you are right in there. That’s when it was clear how much work was needed on and off the pitch. But if I hadn’t put the strategy in place then somebody else would have had to. We don’t want to be a club facing financial restrictions in eight months because we can’t afford to pay the bills.
We have to abide by the financial rules coming in. That’s important. It’s an issue we dealt with in an incredible short period of time.
The summer window is going to be extremely important. The January window is difficult, but over the summer there is more time.
We are already working on that, looking at targets for next summer. We have to plan long term.
It’s crucial to have focus, not just in the short term, on tomorrow’s match and next week, but also take responsibility for driving the club forward.
Q: Do you feel confident about the future for Cardiff City under Russell Slade?
RS: Yes. My fellow managers voted me the best in League One last season. I am confident in my own ability. I never look over my shoulder and always look forward. If the axe falls at any stage that is out of my hands.
My job is to carry out my responsibilities to the best of my ability and help Cardiff City progress from the position they were in when I became manager. That is what I am doing and will continue to do.
I speak to fans when I meet them and have got together with them at meetings. I will continue to do my best for every one of them and this football club.
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