Cardiff City: Squad has Premier League potential, says Russell Slade

Russell Slade was appointed manager of Cardiff in October 2014

Russell Slade believes his successor as Cardiff City boss will inherit a squad with the potential to win promotion to the Premier League.

The Bluebirds ended the season eighth in the Championship as Slade drew his final match in charge against Birmingham on Saturday.

He will be Cardiff's head of football next term, with a new head coach appointed to oversee the first-team.

"I think he [successor] has a nucleus of a good group," said Slade.

"It's important for him to hang on to those good players who've served Cardiff well and then to build around that.

"I think there's a sound platform now for the club to move forward."

Slade succeeded Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as Cardiff manager in October 2014, with the club languishing in the bottom half of the Championship table.

The former Leyton Orient boss initially struggled to convince the Bluebirds' fans, who called for his sacking during his first season at the helm.

During his second campaign, Slade has had to cut costs and contend with a transfer embargo, which was only lifted on the final day of the season.

Despite those limitations, the 55-year-old almost led Cardiff to the play-offs, with those hopes dashed by a dismal 3-0 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday on the penultimate weekend.

"I'm pleased and proud of what my players and my staff have done, in terms of changing the momentum into a positive momentum," Slade added.

"I think it's a great opportunity now. It's not going to be the club I came into. It's going to be a club that came very close to finishing in the top six.

"There's a great platform to build on, that is what someone is going to inherit. It's quite exciting.

"We've made progress. There's more cohesion, we've gone from 11th to 8th. It's not going to take an awful lot more progress to move forward a little bit more."

Slade would not be drawn on whether he considered his new role as a demotion.

"I'm not a bitter and twisted man. It's for the good of the club," he said.

"There's nothing bigger than the club, that's the most important thing. I will play my part.

"I did want a bit more, we all want a bit more as a manager in terms of success, but I think the perception from outside is that me and my team have done a good job here, we just missed out, but it's a tick in the box."