Cardiff City season starts here, says boss Neil Warnock after first win

Kadeem Harris is mobbed by team-mates after scoring Cardiff City's fourth goal

Cardiff City manager Neil Warnock hopes their first win of the season over Fulham can be a springboard for future success.

The Bluebirds triumphed 4-2 in a pulsating encounter on Saturday to climb out of the Premier League relegation zone.

Fellow promoted side Fulham are now in the bottom three, having spent £110m this summer compared to Cardiff's £30m.

"We said our season starts today," said Warnock.

"Even at half-time, when it was 2-2, we'd had a couple of blows and we said: 'This is it. This is our season, 45 minutes now.'

"I thought we were super second half. The crowd are unbelievable at the minute. It's an amazing place - we haven't had any stick whatsoever and we haven't won a game, so it's nice to give them something like that.

"We've waited a long time, it's the middle of October and nobody likes to be waiting for a first win at this stage.

"There's a lot bigger clubs than us with a lot more expenditure and, at the moment, are they better than us? I think there are four or five clubs we can pip. We've just got to keep going. We want to entertain at the same time."

Cardiff were the bookmakers' pre-season favourites for relegation, and an opening sequence of eight matches without victory - and only four goals scored - fuelled the feeling that they were set for an immediate return to the Championship.

But the Welsh club's hopes of confounding such expectations were lifted with Saturday's maiden win, in which they doubled their season's tally of league goals.

Cardiff's modest summer spending was in stark contrast to Fulham's lavish outlay, almost four times that of the Bluebirds as they rebuilt their promotion-winning squad.

Warnock, however, does not believe Cardiff's relative lack of money will mean they are among the Premier League's relegated sides at the end of the season.

"I wish I had it [money], but sometimes it's hard," he said.

"I spent money at Sheffield United and regretted every penny. I went back to [former striker] Neil Shipperley to get me promoted. He was old and heavy!

"Sometimes it's a noose round your neck when you've got money. Fortunately I've not got that problem."