Steve Morison backed to prove Cardiff City right after landing manager's job
- Published
Former striker Steve Morison won 20 caps for Wales
Steve Morison's stint as caretaker manager improved the mood at Cardiff City, but there is work to do as the Bluebirds look to climb the Championship table.
After eight straight defeats spelt the end for Mick McCarthy, four points from three games under Morison convinced Cardiff owner Vincent Tan to hand the former Wales striker the reins until the end of the season.
Morison will be assisted by Tom Ramasut, his fellow former under-23 coach, and ex-Bluebirds skipper Mark Hudson who has returned to the Welsh capital as first-team coach.
Cardiff have often gone for experience when choosing managers in recent years, with Neil Warnock and McCarthy - two of the wisest old heads in the business - leading the club either side of Neil Harris, who arrived in Wales after a lengthy stint as Millwall boss.
The appointment of Morison represents a change in approach, which could be viewed as a gamble, but has been welcomed by some of the club's former stars.
"I think it's the most sensible appointment," ex-Cardiff skipper Jason Perry told BBC Radio Wales.
"I think they (the club's owners) have got this one right."
Morison has been at the Cardiff helm since McCarthy's reign ended on 23 October, within minutes of a home defeat by Middlesbrough.
His first game, at Stoke the following weekend, looked like ending miserably as the Potters went 3-0 up just after half-time, yet Cardiff conjured three goals in five minutes to claim an extraordinary draw.
They were then beaten at home by Queens Park Rangers before Kieffer Moore's late double against Huddersfield brought a win that was desperately needed.
"Steve has created a different style of play at Cardiff and it's working," said former midfielder and local lad Joe Ledley.
"The fans are happy and obviously the board are happy.
"It's going to be a lot of pressure on him because they are still in a relegation battle. Only time will tell - we will see how well they do."
Mark Hudson captained Cardiff when they won promotion to the Premier League in 2012-13
Ledley welcomes the return of Hudson, his former Cardiff team-mate, while Perry described the ex-Huddersfield coach's appointment as "a masterstroke".
"First and foremost he has got experience in his job, he has been coach at Huddersfield and he has been under managers who like to play a way that Cardiff are moving towards," Perry said.
"And he also knows what he it means to put that blue shirt on. I think it's the right appointment.
"I am smiling - you haven't seen me smile when talking about Cardiff City for a while."
Before the Huddersfield triumph, Cardiff had not won in 10 games.
While that ugly sequence is over, the table does not make pretty reading ahead of next weekend's trip to Preston North End.
Cardiff are 20th, three points above the bottom three, having won four and lost 10 of their 17 league games in 2021-22.
It has been a dreadful first chunk of the season for a team who began with high hopes having finished the last campaign with plenty of promise.
Morison and Hudson both studied for coaching badges on the Football Association of Wales (FAW) Trust's coach education programme.
The FAW's technical director, David Adams, believes the duo have qualities which will serve Cardiff well.
Kieffer Moore (left) has returned to form under Steve Morison, scoring three goals in his three games in charge
"I think knowing what Steve's like, he's got good leadership skills," Adams said.
"He will know what he wants as manager from the team and know the young players in the system.
"Mark Hudson is probably more of a grass coach - someone who is good on the grass with the players, a likeable personality. I think he will be a really good link for Steve in terms of delivering on the grass. I think they have a nice balance to the skillset."
Morison had coached in the academies at two of his former clubs, Northampton and Millwall, before being named Cardiff Under-23s boss in 2020.
With a crop of development players including Rubin Colwill, Isaak Davies and Kieron Evans beginning to make their mark in Cardiff's first team, Perry feels Morison is the ideal man for the top job.
"We have all talked about Cardiff with their squad, that they could only play a certain way with the senior pros," he said.
"With the January transfer window [almost seven weeks] away, you have got to try to solve that problem up until then.
"To do that you have got to use the young players. Steve Morison knows them better than anybody else.
"They know him better than anybody else so they feel more relaxed when they go into the first team, in front of a manager who knows what they can do."
Adams says Morison's background will give him the "soft skills" needed to work with Cardiff's youngsters, but insists he is also "strong enough as a person to lead and manage senior players".
"Steve is a very determined guy," Adams said.
"I think he is relishing the opportunity to have a go at being a manager."
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