Cardiff City: Federico Macheda feared for future under boss Slade

Federico Macheda has also played in Germany with Stuttgart and in his native Italy with Sampdoria

Cardiff City striker Federico Macheda says he feared for his Bluebirds career after former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer left the club.

The Italian, signed by Solskjaer in May, has scored twice in his last three games under new boss Russell Slade.

But the 23-year-old says he was unsure about his future at the club when Solskjaer stepped down in September after a poor run of form.

"I feared that it wasn't going to be good for me," said Macheda.

"When I was fit I was starting to play a little bit more and then he got sacked.

"But the new manager came and he put me on the pitch.

"He's a very honest guy. I find him a very good person for the team and a very good manager as well."

Macheda joined Cardiff on a free transfer after being released by Manchester United, where he had previously been coached by Solskjaer in the reserve team.

The former Lazio youth player missed the start of the season with a back injury and did not make his league debut until the end of August, against Fulham.

Solskjaer left the Bluebirds three weeks later, with the club 17th in the Championship after three losses in seven games.

But Macheda has thrived under former Leyton Orient boss Slade, scoring goals against Nottingham Forest and Ipswich.

"When a new manager comes into a new club you've got to work hard to impress him from the first day. I'm happy he's been impressed with me," he said.

"[The fans] haven't seen the best of me yet. I hope to score as many goals as I can for the team."

The Bluebirds are up to 11th in the Championship after two wins in Slade's first three games in charge, and Macheda says he has noticed an improvement: "The team is looking more compact and we know what we're doing."

The Bluebirds host Leeds United on Saturday and Macheda believes a few wins can propel Cardiff towards the top of the table.

"This league is very tight and if we win three or four games in a row we'll be up there," he said.

"I came to Cardiff because I believed we could go up straight away."

You can watch the full interview with Macheda on Sport Wales, Friday, 31 October at 19:00 GMT on BBC Two Wales.

Sport Wales is available on iPlayer for seven days after transmission.