In a snappy monologue, Erol Bulut exhorts the Cardiff City players to take more chances and strive for the top.
Prior to this weekend’s trip to Sunderland, the Bluebirds manager talked.
Erol Bulut, the manager of Cardiff City, compared his squad to his successful teams in Turkey and urged his players to take more chances and have faith in the process.
Cardiff had a difficult start in terms of results, but despite losing some early points, there seemed to be genuine optimism about the way they were playing. However, the Bluebirds are now riding a wave of two straight victories and travel to Sunderland on Sunday in the hopes of winning three straight matches for the first time since February 2022. Sign up for the latest Bluebirds news to be delivered to your inbox.
These early-season games are crucial for making sure you stay in contact with the top teams for when the big work begins after Christmas, even though it’s still too early to determine who the promotion or play-off contenders will be. Bulut believes that his team can succeed this season with a little bit of faith in the process, and he is hoping that the victories over Swansea and Coventry City will serve as a springboard for that belief.
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“I think it was a big step for us. I said before the derby, it is a derby so you prepare yourself much more different for that. As players and as coaches,” Bulut said. “After that big win against Swansea, I said to the players it will not make any sense if we don’t take points on Tuesday. You will have fought for nothing. “We won, but if you lose the next game, we are in the same position as before. It was not only
In Turkey, those teams I coached, I have been at Malatyaspor, Alanyaspor, I can compare them a little bit with Cardiff. It may be a different league or level, but also over there I said they have to believe in what we are doing. In the end, with these teams, I got qualification for the Europa League and I got in a cup final.
“So, don’t take from this answer that we will get into the Europa League or get promoted immediately! I wish it. But if we believe in something, we can do a lot of things. In the end, if this happens, I don’t know. But at least we know what we are fighting for.”
Bulut has certainly showed endeavour during his seven-game spell in charge of Cardiff in the Championship. City are the league’s third-highest scorers (13), even if the defence has been a bit creaky at times. But he is a risk-taker and wants his players to embody that philosophy.
In his words: “A clean sheet is always good, but I prefer to win a game 2-1. If they get a goal I will try and score two!”
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Perhaps the best example is Ryan Wintle. Wintle was one of Cardiff’s better players last season, admittedly it was a poor season, but has had to fight far more for his spot in the side this year.
Bulut entrusted him with a starting role on Tuesday night against Coventry City and the midfielder rewarded him with a top-drawer performance. The manager played him in a more advanced role and he provided a lovely assist for Karlan Grant’s goal against the Sky Blues. The difference in Wintle is what Bulut wants to see in all his players.
“We had a different system against Coventry, a 4-3-3,” Bulut began. “I wanted my No. 8s, Rallsy (Joe Ralls) and Wints (Wintle) to be more offensive and it was a great assist for him.
“I said to him that what he showed me until now, he could give much more. He has that quality. Before he was playing safe passes from A to B, B to A. I wanted more passes in behind the defence, between the lines. He has to take more risks. If he makes a mistake, he makes a mistake, football is like this.
“If you try, try, try, it will happen. So I am pushing him for this and other players for other things. We cannot always play safe football. We want to attack and sometimes you have to play with risk.”
There’s not been much sign of safe football to date, but Cardiff fans are enjoying the ride. Goals galore and a real emphasis on the attack is a massive departure from the last few seasons and it truly is a welcome change for Bluebirds fans.
