'Old' Wintle enjoying senior role with youthful Cardiff City
Ryan Wintle joined Cardiff City in 2021
- Published
Midfielder Ryan Wintle says he is enjoying being a senior figure in the Cardiff City dressing room - even if he is just 28.
Wintle started Cardiff's season-opening game at home Peterborough United as the oldest player by five years, such has been the youth movement adopted by new head coach Brian Barry-Murphy.
It is an approach that has led Cardiff to an unbeaten start to the season and has taken the Bluebirds to the top of the League One table.
"With the turnaround in the summer, we've got a lot of young players," said Wintle.
"In the first game of the season, I think I was five years the oldest. I felt old. Obviously, I'm not old, you know, I'm 28, I should be in my prime, really.
"But it's good to be with young players who are hungry and want to learn and improve, and you can see that we are getting better by every game.
"I was one of them, you know, 10 or 11 years ago. Everyone's got to enjoy the ride.
"If I can help by using a bit of my experience, then hopefully we'll get promoted and that'll be a good thing for everyone."
One player who has been a big part of the new, youthful Cardiff City has been attacking midfielder Rubin Colwill.
The Wales international, 23, has - according to Wintle - been given more freedom by Barry-Murphy.
"I spoke to the manager partly about him when he first came in and I said with Rubin, he's got all the ability in the world, he should be in the Premier League, but he's not quite had the right coaching to say, 'this is what you have to do'," Wintle said.
"With this manager, he's kind of given him a freedom, but he's said to him, 'this is what you've got to do and this is how you'll get good numbers and this is how you'll win games and you'll look even better'. And he's been doing it so far so, hopefully, it continues.
"He's 6ft 6in and probably the best mover on the ball I've ever seen. I always compare him to Morgan Rodgers [of Aston Villa] and people like that.
"He's got that ceiling and he's got to be looking at that now and especially with this coach, he's only going to take him higher and higher, hopefully with us. So hopefully, he can get there."