Mark Harris: Striker fighting for Cardiff and Wales future
- Published
Mark Harris (left) has scored three goals in 31 Championship appearances for Cardiff City this season
Mark Harris says he is facing a crucial few months as he looks to prolong his future with Cardiff City and Wales.
Striker Harris is desperate for the Bluebirds to win their struggle against Championship relegation and earn a new contract.
And the 24-year-old believes staying in the second tier is vital to his prospects of remaining part of Robert Page's Wales squad.
"The higher the league the better, to get into that squad," said Harris.
"[At Cardiff] our main focus is the rest of the games in the league, get as many points as we can and hopefully that will be enough.
"I am very confident we have a good group of lads. We all know what we need to do and we all know we can do it. It's just about getting the results on the pitch.
"My contract is up in the summer. I just want to keep training hard, putting in the work. Hopefully I can get on the pitch and get a few goals to help our position.
"I joined Cardiff when I was five years old, I love it here."
Highs and lows
Harris has experienced the highs and lows of last-gasp goals in recent weeks.
He was part of the Wales squad who claimed an unlikely 1-1 Euro qualifying draw in Croatia, courtesy of a 93rd-minute equaliser from debutant Nathan Broadhead.
A week later, Harris saw fellow Welsh international Ben Cabango seal an historic south Wales derby triumph, as his 99th-minute winner clinched a 3-2 victory for Swansea City at the Cardiff City Stadium.
The defeat left Cardiff outside the relegation zone on goal difference in 21st position and facing a hugely significant game at Blackpool, who are four points adrift of them in 23rd place, on Friday, 7 April.
"To come back to 2-2, I thought all the lads were playing unbelievably well and to get that sucker punch was tough to take," said Harris.
"But we have to move on. We know where we are in the table, we have a massive game coming up on Friday and we will just be all focused on that."
Mark Harris (centre) - who was speaking at an event to promote McDonald's Fun Football and Happy Readers programme in Cardiff - has five Wales caps
Harris knows how important playing Championship football next season will be to maintaining his place in the Wales squad, having travelled to the World Cup without making an appearance in Qatar.
Wales are top of Euro 2024 qualifying group D after their opening two games, despite the retirements of all-time men's top goalscorer and record appearance-maker Gareth Bale, fellow centurion Chris Gunter, midfielder Joe Allen and Jonny Williams.
But Swansea-born Harris believes the good start proves the Wales squad can still thrive following those high-profile departures.
He said: "It was an unbelievable draw away to Croatia, one of the best sides in world football, never mind Europe. And it was even better to back it up with a win a couple of days later over Latvia. Four points out of six, we will take that.
"The squad is younger now, though it was young anyway. They [the retirees] will be missed, they were big players, they are Welsh legends. But there is definitely life after them."