Cardiff City manager Russell Slade has seen his team achieve some impressive results over the last month, but he says that he wants an even better performance when his team take on Birmingham City this weekend.
Cardiff have little to play for in the remainder of the season. After the home match against Birmingham, the club will have only seven matches left in the season. Since we are already 16 points behind the final play-off spots, it is looking unlikely that the players will be motivated going into the weekend. The prospect of relegation has also been avoided for the time being.
Slade says that the team has definitely performed exceptionally well in the recent matches against Bournemouth and Brentford. Cardiff were not expected to get even a point from these two matches against top opposition, but they managed to overcome all odds by getting four points. This was possible after a win over Brentford and a draw against Bournemouth, who currently lead the table. Birmingham have not been going through the same kind of form as their last two opponents, but Slade still considers them as a top opposition nonetheless. There have been several up-and-down some of the campaign, but Slade wants to ensure a strong finish to the season.
“Getting good results against strong Brentford and Bournemouth sides over the last two games was pleasing, as we hadn`t done that against the top sides yet this season. The resilience and the character in the side were much better. Since the January window shut, we`ve been looking at targets and seeing what might be available to us in terms of strengthening the group. It seems as if we`ve achieved a little bit of stability, togetherness and that bonding element, which can galvanise the group to go forward,” said Slade.