Managers comments after Tranmere game

"You need a big squad in today's game and we reaped the benefit of having a strong squad tonight. People like Chris Barker, Layton Maxwell and Des Hamilton are unlucky. They would be in most teams in this division.

"But, at the moment, they're not in the first team here and that's the price you pay for being at Cardiff. You never want players to get injured, but for a manager it's difficult when you see the frustration on the faces of some of the players who aren't playing in the first team. Andy Legg came off injured and Chris got his chance. Andy also came on and made a great run to make our fourth goal.

"I've told them all that they will come into my plans. We need the whole squad if we are going to achieve anything this season. We've got a heavy programme coming up and some of the lads who don't normally start will be featuring in some of those matches. All the players who have come in to replace the regulars have done well. Look at Martyn Margetson when he replaced Neil Alexander a couple of weeks ago.

"He was spot on that day and that's how all the players who come in have got to perform. If they're not spot on, then when they do get their chance they won't be ready. And if they don't play well when they get their chance then they're not going to win a starting place. Only once this season has the team dropped in performance and that was last week at Blackpool, so as far as I'm concerned I haven't got any selection headaches right now.

"I can't please all the people all of the time. I'm not ready to rotate for league games just yet, but I will rotate the squad for cup games. If the players who haven't normally played keep doing well when they get their chance, then I might not be able to ignore them if the players ahead of them aren't doing well.

"I've always said it's the players who aren't in the team that a manager has got to manage. I've got to keep them mentally focussed so they're ready if they have to play and that can be hard."

"The players gave me the response I wanted after losing at Blackpool. Maybe we should play at 5.35pm every Saturday. The players have worked hard every day in training this week and I had to tweak the team because Gareth Whalley is injured. It was a boost to bounce back on live TV and the win moves us closer to Wigan."

"I thought the result was a bit harsh. We were very unfortunate to concede those two goals in the first half. Their first goal went in from a rebound. Then the referee has given Cardiff a penalty. Decisions change games and one decision changed this game. Cardiff are a quality side. The amount of money they've spent on players tells you what they want to achieve this season. They have quality players who will hurt you if you don't do the right things. There are no better teams in this division than Cardiff and Wigan."