Erol Bulut: Cardiff City boss says he is no 'prophet' of success despite upturn
- Published
Cardiff boss Erol Bulut celebrates with his players after their win over Swansea
Manager Erol Bulut says he is no "prophet" despite leading Cardiff City to two Championship wins in four days.
But Bulut believes building on the weekend derby victory over Swansea City with Tuesday's win over Coventry City was huge for the team's self-belief.
Cardiff want a third successive win at Sunderland on Sunday and are boosted by the return of midfielder Aaron Ramsey.
"My players asked whether I was a prophet or something like that," Bulut joked.
"No. I managed Malatyaspor and Alanyaspor in Turkey, I can compare them a little bit with Cardiff.
"There, I said you have to believe in what we are doing. In the end, with these teams I got qualification for the Europa League and I got in a cup final.
"Don't take from this that we will get into the Europa League or get promoted immediately, though I wish it.
"But if we believe in something, we can do a lot of things. In the end, I don't know if this will happen. But at least we know what we are fighting for."
Bulut feels the 2-0 win over Welsh rivals Swansea - halting a run of four successive south Wales derby defeats - was a huge stepping stone for Cardiff's players.
"For me it was not only three points, it was everything, for the future and for the next games," he said.
"I told them to believe in yourselves and believe in what we did from the start of the season until now and the steps they have made.
"That means not only to believe in themselves but also believe in their team-mates.
"I said to them that if you believe in what we are doing, you will see where we can go with this team."
Cardiff will travel to the Stadium of Light on Sunday looking to chalk up a third consecutive Championship win for the first time since a run in January-February 2022.
The 10th-placed team's chances against a Sunderland side on a three-match winning run, sitting fourth in the table, are boosted by the return of Wales captain Ramsey, who missed Cardiff's 3-2 win over Coventry with an adductor muscle injury.
Bulut said: "I spoke with him (Ramsey), he will be ready for Sunday, he feels good. Today (Thursday) he was on the field, he made some runs, physically and mentally he is in a very good shape. We need him.
"Aaron Ramsey is very important for this club, for me and for the team. It's not easy to not have him in the game.
"But we showed - our players showed - we don't have to concentrate only on one player. If it's not Ramsey, it has to be someone else. Our company, our machine has to work always. It has to be the same performance if someone else plays.
"Everyone has to fight for this. I cannot play until the end of the season with 13 or 14 players, I have 25 and I will use all of them. We will get injuries and cards, so everyone has to be ready.
"I said to the players who are not playing, in two weeks it could be different. They could be in the first XI and have to give 100%. If you don't show you want the shirt, in two weeks' time you won't get the shirt."
However, Cardiff still have Republic of Ireland international Callum O'Dowda and Nottingham Forest loanee Josh Bowler sidelined with injuries.